UnderAGE
by Cara Miro
Summary: Better summary in profile. Three girls are forced into a whole new life where they encounter new experiences,face hardships,and meet the first men in their lives. Will they learn the lessons their foster-mom forgot to teach? Michi, Sorato, Takari
1. Teaser

Okay, now that it's summer time here in Manila, I'm going to start writing fanfiction again. Yay me! This is a new project I'm working on, along with "My Only Hope" at the Twilight category. For short, these two projects are my summer babies.

"Underage", like "My Only Hope" was inspired by the TV series "Your Song". That TV program is a remake of an 80's teen film "Underage" that launched some of the Philippines' best actresses today. In the version I'm watching on TV, it stars Melissa Ricks, Empress Schuck, and Lauren Young. It is currently showing on ABS-CBN, a local channel.

Pairings: Michi, Sorato, Takari. All three are major pairs but I put this under Michi cause I thought I'd add to the 8 pages in this category. Come on, people… We can do better than that!!!

What's gonna happen is that I'll refer to them using their Japanese names, but they'll call each other with their "nicknames" in this one.

Now I bring you…Underage: The Digimon Version!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T and NEVER WILL own Digimon or Underage. They belong to Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively.

* * *

Marks:

Bold – voice over/songs "Word" - talking Italics – flashback 'Word' – thought

Underline – place

Borderline – change of scene

* * *

**Trailer: **

**When you're a teenager, the world is a stage**

The scene shows Hikari sitting next to her mom Yuuko, while Sora sits on the grass near Hikari's feet, and Mimi walks in front of them, waving and smiling as though she was in a beauty pageant.

"Have you seen a girl prettier than she?" Yuuko points to Mimi.

"Goodness, Mom. Not at all. There's no one in this world prettier than Mimi." Hikari replies.

"Honestly," Sora chimed, "when the gods gave out the gifts of beauty and brains, everyone, save for mine and Mimi's mothers and the four of us, was asleep! For short, we got it all!"

Mimi, Hikari, and Yuuko laugh with Sora.

* * *

A loud scream can be heard in the entire house, as Sora, Hikari, and Yuuko run to the bathroom, where the screaming came from. Taichi runs out of the bathroom. Mimi fellows and glares at Taichi.

"With all due respect Auntie Yuuko and Kari, HE IS A SICK PERVERT!" she screeches before throwing a hairbrush at him.

* * *

Mimi, Sora, Hikari, Takeru, Yamato, and Fumika (An OC) are gathered at the balcony when Taichi appears at the garden wearing a pink spaghetti strapped dress.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Yamato shouts as he points at Taichi, while holding back his laughter.

Mimi and Sora look at Taichi, high five each other and collapse into giggles, while Hikari and Takeru roll on the floor laughing and Fumika holds her laughter in.

Taichi says nothing as he glares at Mimi, who stops laughing to wink at him.

* * *

**Because YOU are the center of attention**

Mimi dances seductively onstage while Sora and Hikari are her back-up dancers. From the audience, Taichi watches as though he's enjoying himself.

* * *

Mimi is now in formal wear with the rest of the pageant contestants behind her. She ends her speech by confidently saying, "I can make it happen. Thank you very much."

The announcer says, "The new Miss Suzaku Village (taken from Fushigi Yuugi) is…. MISS MIMI TACHIKAWA!"

The audience claps and cheers as Mimi beckons Yuuko, Sora, and Hikari to come up on stage with her. When they get onstage, the four of them engage in a group hug.

* * *

**But life isn't all sugar and spice**

The girls are gathered around Yuuko's bed. Yuuko is wrapped up in a blanket, looking deathly pale.

"Girls," she says, "I'm dying… I've had breast cancer for the past twenty years, but I couldn't do anything about it."

Mimi's crying face is shown on the screen.

"All I want for my girls is for them to finish their education." She continues.

Sora's crying face flashes on screen.

"And to reach all their dreams." She finishes.

Hikari cries hysterically as all three girls embrace Yuuko.

* * *

**Life can still become sweeter with… Love **

Sora leans on a tree and closes her eyes, smiling.

Yamato sits on the other side of the tree and plays his guitar.

* * *

Takeru, Iori, Daisuke, and Ken seem to be looking at something from above. Iori, Ken, and Daisuke are pointing out something to Takeru.

Hikari smiles at Takeru and Taichi from the balcony.

* * *

Taichi gets out of his car.

Mimi prances around the garden, in a mock-Ms. Universe way.

* * *

Sora holds a book while looking at someone with a confused look on her face.

"Sometimes," Yamato explains, "You need to save someone you love from yourself."

"I have no idea what to say to you." Sora exclaims.

* * *

The girls are gathered in one room. Hikari sits down on a chair and snorts, "Men. You'll fall in love with them, and all they'll do is leave you."

* * *

Taichi gets the car, while Takeru waves to Hikari before he enters the car himself. Hikari waves back, with a smile on her face.

* * *

Mimi and Taichi are on the stage, and Mimi is dressed in her pageant clothes, with the crown and scepter.

"I'm gonna give you a day that you'll never ever forget." Mimi flirtatiously promises him.

* * *

**Three girls**

**Three times the charm.**

**They discover that life isn't all **

**Sugar, spice, and everything nice **

**When you're… **

**UNDERAGE.**

**Coming soon to a computer near you! **

It isn't that good of a trailer. If you want the character profiles, just tell me so I'll get to work on that. It will probably be a better trailer than this one I came up with. If only I knew how to draw, then I could put up some pictures for the last part of this trailer. I made a few adjustments since there were some stuff that needed to be fixed.

By the way, I NEED a beta-reader for this fanfic. I'd prefer someone who's familiar with both Digimon and Underage. But the more important one is Digimon, cause I might make a few changes to Underage as it suits the story.

PLEASE CLICK THE GREEN BUTTON BELOW. More reviews, I update this sooner.

I'd love to hear your constructive comments, but I draw the line at flames.


	2. So it Begins

**Uh, hi. Cara Miro here and chapter 1 of Underage is in the house! As I said in the trailer, I based it from the TV series of the same title. The series isn't done here yet, so I'm still watching it and will modify some things to suit the story.**

**I'd like to give credit to my sent-from-heaven beta: PrincessJaded. *standing ovation* **

**To get it over with: **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't and never will own Digimon or Underage. They belong to Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively.**

* * *

Suzaku Village was a fishing village that was located in the rural areas of Japan. It took a five-hour drive from Tokyo to arrive at this humble little fishing village. Anyone who had never visited the village was in for an enormous surprise. Despite being practically non-existent on the map of Japan, this humble little town hid three secrets from the rest of Japan: delicious fish, pretty girls, and lots of scandals that led to hot gossip.

Yuuko Yagami frowned when she thought of all that. She was a favorite topic of the town gossips and she knew it. Who could blame them? She was the one who raised her children in the most unusual way.

She sat down on the couch in her living room and smiled as she watched three beautiful young girls dance in the field near the fish pens. Only one of them was her biological daughter, but the two other girls were as good as her real daughters.

"I'll see what the girls are doing before I go to the market," she said out loud to no one in particular.

* * *

The three girls Yuuko was watching from inside the house danced as one of them sang. These girls weren't sisters biologically but they treated each other as though they were.

Yuuko looked at the tallest and oldest girl first.

The eldest was Sora Takenouchi. Red haired, ruby-eyed, and tall, she was the "Tough Cookie" among the girls. She was a force to be reckoned with, on and off the courts when she played tennis with the village boys. Despite her tomboyish side, she was the protective motherly one among the trio.

The Takenouchis, Toshiko and Haruhiko, left Sora under Yuuko's care a few days after she was born since they were running for their lives at the time and could not afford to keep their daughter. Unfortunately, the couple was spotted immediately after they gave Sora to Yuuko, a childhood friend of Toshiko's, and they died before Yuuko's eyes.

She looked at the girl who sang for them as she led the other two girls in that song-and-dance number they rehearsed next.

The village knew the middle child as the "Confident Diva" and she was aptly nick named such. With her long, flowing honey-brown locks, cinnamon eyes, and model-like body, Mimi Tachikawa believed that the universe revolved around her and she often used her charms to get what she wanted. Which was usually for the good of their family. Aside from that, she had a blunt tongue.

Yuuko smiled at the resemblance between Mimi and her mother Satoe, both in terms of looks and attitude. Satoe Tachikawa left Mimi in her care because Satoe's in-laws refused to accept her in the family. No matter how hard Keisuke, Satoe's husband, fought for their relationship, they refused to accept his wife. Oddly enough, they wanted Mimi. Satoe decided to hide Mimi from them. She asked her old friend Yuuko to keep Mimi from her husband's family. As for Satoe herself, she jumped in the lake at the next village so that she couldn't be tracked down.

Lastly, was her own daughter Hikari, the "Frail Man-Hater." Her youngest, and only child, had inherited her short, chocolate brown hair and coffee colored eyes. While the older girls were tolerable in dealing with the opposite gender, Hikari refused to have anything to do with men, with an exception of her older brother. In fact, she believed that men were the root of all misery and pain. Nevertheless, she was a kind-hearted and shy child.

Yuuko knew Hikari's aversion to men was partially her fault. After all, the girls knew that her husband, Susumu, abandoned her days after she gave birth to Hikari. It turned out that he had married her despite having another wife and a son back in the city. Both she and Hikari went to the city from time to time to meet with Susumu and his son. They never came to the fishing village, so neither had ever met Mimi and Sora.

Yuuko smiled as the three girls screamed when the cats threatened to eat the fish near the area in which they danced. When they grabbed sticks and chased after the cats, she decided that it was time to go to the market and get some work done.

* * *

Catherine Moreau made her way along the busy streets of Odaiba until she reached a certain condominium. On closer inspection, she had long blonde hair and steel gray eyes that flashed in irritation when she spotted a certain car.

She walked up to a shiny silver Volvo with a pissed off expression. She stood in front of the driver's door and tapped on the window impatiently. She waited for the driver to acknowledge her as she stepped away from the car.

A young man with bushy russet hair that could pass for a bird's nest and chestnut eyes that were hidden by goggles stepped out of the car.

"Tai! What were you saying over the phone?" The woman snapped. "What was that I heard about a festival?"

"Catherine," Taichi Yagami coolly replied as he moved the goggles to his head. "We've discussed this before."

"So you're saying that you'd rather spend your summer in the province with Yamato and Takeru than spend it in Paris with me?" Catherine screamed.

Taichi simply rolled his eyes, went back in his car, and drove out of sight.

* * *

The Chosen Children Boarding House was one of the most popular student boarding houses in Odiaba. It served as the dormitory of some of the students from Odaiba High School and even some university students. It was famous because of its home-like appeal and excellent cooking. This was all under the command of the landlady Fumika Sakurano.

"T.K.!" A plump woman with long black hair and coffee brown eyes called out to a blue-eyed teenager with golden blond hair hidden under a white fisherman hat, as she walked down the stairs carrying three suitcases.

"Auntie Fumika, let me get that," Takeru Takaishi said as he grabbed the bags from the woman and walked her out the door.

"Where is Taichi?" Fumika Sakurano asked him.

"He's probably on his way here, Auntie," Takeru replied as he joined three boys who were playing soccer by the garden. "You know that he isn't exactly Mr. Punctual."

"Matt? Are you sure you're just going to follow us?" Fumika turned her attention to an older version of Takeru.

"Yes, Auntie," Yamato Ishida responded. "I still have some papers to fix over at the university. Then I'll follow you guys."

A honk sounded through the boarding house as a silver Volvo came into view. "Oh there's Tai!" Yamato shouted as he pointed to the car.

Fumika looked over to three boys playing soccer at the garden. "TK, come on!"

Takeru exchanged man-hugs with the boys he was playing soccer with then grabbed his and Fumika's bags and ran to the Volvo. Taichi got out of the car to help Fumika in.

"Don't bother Tai," Fumika said as he helped her in the car.

"Sorry I'm late," Taichi apologized as he heaved the last of their bags into the trunk. He looked up at the house and shouted, "Matt! You better follow us there, 'cause I'm not baby-sitting your baby brother!"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm coming," Yamato snapped back as Taichi and Takeru entered the car.

Fumika stuck her head out the window to shout some more last minute instructions.

"Before you all go home for the summer holidays, I have some last minute instructions for you people! Yolei, lock all the windows and doors and let no one in! Davis, Ken, and Cody, when I leave you guys better go home. Don't stay any longer. I don't want your mothers calling me, saying that you guys didn't come home. Joe and Jun, kindly restock the medicine cabinets and clean the infirmary before you go. Izzy, see to it that all circuit breakers are in working order. Oikawa, you're in charge of the house while I'm gone!"

The aforementioned boarders and handy-man all saluted the car before Taichi drove away from the boarding house. "Have you good time at the festival!" they shouted as Fumika closed the window.

* * *

Everywhere in Suzaku Village people were setting up booths for that evening's festival. Women cooked all sorts of dishes while men set up the stage for the beauty pageant. Those who weren't helping set-up the stage built an assortment of booths. The children were either helping decorate the town or rehearsing for the various performances in the festival: a marching band, song and dance numbers, plays, and of course, the beauty pageant.

Yuuko walked around town, buying some last minute necessities since her sister was coming to town with guests. She walked up to the florist and said, "Ayumi, the beauty contest happens tonight. Please, please clap for my daughter Mimi as loud as you can."

"Sure Yuuko," The florist replied. "We'll support Mimi all the way."

"Promise?" Yuuko asked. The florist and her assistants all nodded their assent. "Ooooh! Thank you!" She squealed as she went away to campaign elsewhere.

She ran up to a group of young fishermen. "Boys, please support my daughter. Her name is Mimi Tachikawa. Don't forget, Mimi Tachikawa. Please cheer for her as loudly as you can."

She went around the village doing the same thing over and over again.

* * *

Yuuko Yagami's garden was a frequent topic among the women of Suzaku Village. It was known for its pretty flowers, well-kept grass, and generally calming effect on people. However, it was anything but quiet in that garden as of the moment since Mimi, Sora, Hikari, and Yuuko were practicing the dance the girls were performing later that evening. Rather, the three girls were practicing and they were teaching Yuuko the dance.

"Right arm up! Left arm up! Touch the legs," Mimi directed as the other three did the steps with her. "Step to the left, step to the right. And head! Turn right, turn left. Wave to the front."

"Oh! Look mom! You're doing it!" Hikari cheered as Mimi and Sora let out victory whoops and all of them started clapping for themselves.

"Auntie Yuuko, I had no idea you could dance so well!" Mimi cheered.

"When I was younger, I could dance even better," Yuuko shared as she and Hikari took a seat on the bench, Sora sat on the grass near Hikari's feet, Mimi remained standing facing them.

"Do you think I can dance that well?" Mimi asked them.

"Of course. You can dance even better than I did when I was younger. And you're far prettier than anyone I've ever known. And tonight, you will be crowned Miss Suzaku Village."

"Woooo!" Sora boyishly cheered, as she, Hikari, and Yuuko clapped.

"But," Yuuko interrupted their happy moment, "that's only the first step, because there will be a day that you will be crowned the new… Miss Universe!"

"You really think I have a chance to win it?" Mimi asked them with shining eyes as she jokingly crowned herself and pranced around, waving at them, and posed in front of them in a mock pageant way.

"Of course!" Yuuko said. She looked at Hikari and Sora and pointed at Mimi then added, "besides, have you girls seen a girl prettier than she?"

"Goodness, Mom. Not at all. There's no one in this world prettier than Mimi. Everyone here is ugly and mean," Hikari replied.

"Honestly," Sora chimed in, "when the gods gave out the gifts of beauty and brains, everyone, save for mine and Mimi's mothers, and the four of us, were asleep! In short, we got it all!"

Mimi stopped prancing and laughed with Sora, Hikari, and Yuuko.

"But then, it's okay if they're ugly. If only the people here weren't so judgmental," Hikari interrupted. "It's like when they look at us, they think we're going to steal their husbands and sons."

"Ewwww! Kari, they are so arrogant. They can keep their sons and husbands who look like Ogremon to themselves for all I care," Mimi declared, "In fact, if I had to marry someone from here, I'd rather become an old maid like Aunt Fumika!"

"Hear, hear!" Sora and Kari agreed.

* * *

The car ride from Odaiba to Suzaku Village was an extremely long one. Fumika decided to tell the two boys about her sister and nieces, while the boys kept asking her all sorts of questions.

"So you're saying that none of them are blood-related?" Takeru asked Fumika from the back seat.

"Yes, my sister adopted the two girls, while the youngest is her only real daughter," Fumika replied.

"And that youngest one happens to be my half-sister," Taichi added.

"That's right, Tai," Fumika agreed. "But seriously, my sister is fond of adopting children rather than giving birth to her own."

"How about you, Auntie Fumika?" Takeru asked. "What would you rather do?"

"If I had a choice, I'd like to give birth to my children rather than take care of someone who isn't my flesh and blood," the lone female answered.

"That's the spirit Auntie Fumika!" Taichi and Takeru cheered, as they sped along the highway.

* * *

Mimi was perched on the balcony near the sofa, Sora sat on the couch by the coffee table, while Hikari and Yuuko settled on the love seat on the other side of the table after putting down a tray of cookies and tea.

"You know what, I don't want to get married," Hikari said once they all were comfortable. "I don't like men, AT ALL!" She cringed. "Men… You'll fall in love with them, and all they'll do is leave you."

"Kari," her mother sighed as she reached out for her hand. "Not all mean are evil. Whatever my fate was, it's not going to happen to you. Where I was unfortunate, I bet you'll be lucky. You know what, honey? It's a shame, you have all the characteristics of an ideal wife and mother."

"No mom, I really don't want to get married," Hikari told her mother gently. "Those men… when they leave you, you'll be the one on the losing end. You'll look pathetic and people will just make fun of you."

"What's wrong with that?" Mimi asked. "Then you make fun of them too!"

She and Sora laughed while Yuuko and Hikari smiled appreciatively.

"Meems is right Kari!" Sora agreed. "Let's test the IQ of those laughing idiots. You'll find that they have the brains of a hyena. They know absolutely NOTHING except how to laugh."

Mimi raised her teacup to Hikari and Sora as if to say, "cheers."

* * *

"What are their names and ages again?" Takeru asked.

"The eldest is seventeen-year-old Sora, Sor for short. The middle child is Mimi or Meems; she's sixteen. And Hikari, or rather Kari, is the youngest and she's fourteen," Fumika informed.

"Are you sure they're really pretty?" Taichi inquired. "I know Kari is, but how about the other two?"

"That is one thing I can assure you of," Fumika boasted. "To prove it to you, the middle child Mimi is joining a beauty contest tonight, while Sora the oldest one has charmed the boys of the village with her looks and tennis skills."

"There's a beauty contest there?! I hope my brother makes it on time tonight," Takeru gasped.

"Why? Are you guys excited?" She teased.

"Of course!" Taichi replied. "What guy wouldn't be excited to meet pretty girls?"

All three of them laughed.

"The question still remains… Are they nice girls?" Takeru asked once they stopped laughing.

"Just get to know them and you'll see," Fumika advised mysteriously.

* * *

Yuuko settled herself on the hammock outside the house, Sora and Kari fed their pet bird and cat respectively, and Mimi watered the herbs.

"Auntie Yuuko," Mimi looked up from her plants with a concerned look on her face, "what's the problem?"

"It's nothing, Meems," Yuuko brushed it off but her face looked pained.

"Auntie, don't lie to us!" Sora demanded. "Look at you. We were just laughing a couple of minutes ago, and now you're going to cry. Don't tell us that's nothing!"

"What's the matter, mom?" Hikari asked as she reached for her mom's hand.

"It's nothing. I know that even if we're laughing, deep down, you three have anger and bitterness in your hearts. It's because of my stupidity," Yuuko confessed. "Our family isn't whole. In fact, Mimi and Sora, you're not even with your real parents. Kari, you're not a legitimate child. And because of these things, the village loves making fun of us."

"Mom, it's okay. Don't be sorry," Hikari chidded.

"Auntie," Sora reprimanded, "don't blame yourself. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be alive. I'd probably be dead like my parents."

"She's right," Mimi added. "If I was with my father's family, they'd probably look down on me."

"Besides, we're okay. I mean yeah sure, people talk about us, but it's alright," Sora said thoughtfully. "We're happy as a family of four; plus, we're able to go to school. We're better off than others. They may have both a mother and a father but they always fight, and there are some who don't even get to go school."

"Yup. Our family is the best, and you're the best mother ever, biological or not," Mimi concluded as joined the older woman on the hammock and embraced her.

"That's why I joined tonight's contest, because I want to give a speech. More than the cash prize and the recognition, I want to be able to say that I have the best mom, well foster-mother, ever. All that I have and all that I am, I owe it to you. We owe it to you."

"Amen," Sora agreed as she knelt in front of Yuuko and grabbed her hands. "As long as you're here, we'll be fine."

"Never go away, mom," Hikari finished as she completed their group hug.

While the three girls wore content smiles, the woman, however, had a pained sentimental look in her eyes.

* * *

"One, two, three, four," Mimi counted as they danced beside the river that was behind their house. "Five, six, seven, eight."

Three men who dragged a shark with them interrupted their practice. The shark was big enough to catch the girls' attention.

"Hey, Mr. Mimasaki?" Hikari called to the nearest fisherman. "Where are you taking Gomamon?"

"He's going to be tonight's shark's fin," the old man replied.

"Shark's fin?!" Hikari shrieked, looking as if she were about to cry. "Poor Gomamon…"

"You're worrying about that shark?" Mimi asked, looking the youngest girl in the eye. "Kari, how will I win the pageant tonight if you're gonna be all negative? You already had a moment earlier; you're having a drama session again. Instead of concentrating on backing me up, you're agonizing over Gomamon!"

"Think of it this way," Sora joined in. "Everyone and every_thing_ has a purpose in life. That SHARK you're crying over will be the star of tonight's festival."

The older girls stared at the youngest. Hikari's expression was sad but then she looked like she was about to smile.

"Ooooh! She gonna laugh!" Mimi and Sora teased as they poked Hikari who finally smiled at them.

"Okay places!" Mimi announced, "Oh wait! I have an idea. Let's practice over here!"

She dragged Hikari with her to the river, and Sora followed behind.

"We're gonna rehearse here?" Hikari asked as they prepared to jump into the river.

"Come on, let's go!" Sora said as they grabbed hands.

"One, two, three!" They counted off before they jumped in the river and started splashing each other.

* * *

A silver Volvo appeared in the space in front of the Yagami residence. Yuuko spotted it and ran out of the house to greet the guests who had just arrived. When the Volvo stopped, three people got out: her sister Fumika, her daughter's half-brother Taichi, and a blond she didn't know.

Fumika posed with her arms outstretched as Yuuko ran from the house shouting, "Fumika!" The sisters embraced and exchanged "I miss you's" with each other.

"Hey, Auntie Yuuko," Taichi greeted one the sister's broke apart. He kissed her on the cheek. "How have you been?"

"I've been well Tai," she replied then looked at the only stranger. "And who is the handsome young man?"

"Oh, this is Takeru Takaishi, but he prefers to be called T.K.," Fumika answered. "He's one of my boarders at the house. He always pays on time, and he's a good kid. He and his brother are off to the next village to see their grandparents but I told them to join us here before they go."

"Pleased to meet you, Ma'am," Takeru respectfully shook her hand.

"As for Tai, he frequents the boarding house a lot because of his best friend Matt, that's T.K.'s older brother. See, both are handsome, rich, and in Tai's and Matt's cases, they have nice cars!" Fumika rambled.

"Aunt Fumika!" Tai exclaimed as he and T.K. blushed. "By the way, Aunt Yuuko, do you have room for one more? T.K.'s older brother Matt will be joining us pretty soon, sooo…" he trailed off.

"Oh, of course!" Yuuko smiled, "Now Tai, I'm sure you'd like to see your sister."

"That's not the only reason why Tai's here," Fumika scoffed. "Aside from wanting to see his sister, he's also escaping from his bitch of an ex-girlfriend who wants to get back together with him!"

"I was planning to tell Auntie Yuuko about it myself _in private_, but you beat me to the punch. Thanks Auntie Fumika," Taichi grumbled moodily as he poked the owner of the boarding house.

"What? Come on now, boys," Fumika defended herself, "I've practically told you about my whole life." She looked around and asked, "Where are the girls?"

"They have a dance number tonight," Yuuko replied. "They're most likely practicing by the river."

"You know what I told them about your girls, sister?" Fumika teased. "When the boys asked if they were pretty and kind, all I told them was they had to get to know the girls for themselves."

Yuuko laughed as she led them into the house. "Come on, and bring your bags in first."

Taichi and Takeru brought all their bags inside as the sisters caught up with each other.

* * *

"Sor! Meems! Kari!" Yuuko shouted, as she led the way for Fumika, Taichi, and Takeru to the back of the house. "Your Aunt Fumika is here! Kari, your brother is with her too!"

Taichi and Takeru walked to the well near the river. Suddenly, they got splashed by a pail of cold water from Sora, Mimi, and Hikari. The three girls doubled over with laughter until Hikari sobered up and apologized, "I'm sorry, big brother. You should have seen the look on your face!"

"Ugh," Takeru grumbled as he removed his hat. "Is that water even clean?"

Mimi and Sora calmed down a little bit but continued to giggle whenever they caught sight of Taichi's and Takeru's disgruntled expressions.

"Oh no!" Fumika's voice rang in the air as she ran up to them. "Boys are you okay? Girls, what did you do?"

"Aw, Aunt Fumika," Sora pouted. "It's been a year since we last saw each other and you're already mad at us?"

"Yeah," Mimi chimed in. "You didn't even greet us with an 'I missed you, girls,' or a 'it's good to see you again.'"

"How can I say it's good to see you after you've wet my guests?" Fumika countered exasperatedly.

The girls looked at the boys again, and dissolved into yet another fit of giggles.

"What a way to greet your brother, Kar," Taichi snapped.

"Hiya, big brother!" Kari grinned as she embraced him, getting him even wetter in the process.

"Kari!" Taichi growled when she let go.

"No 'I missed you' or 'how are you?'" Hikari pouted cutely.

"Not right now, Kari," Taichi smirked. "Maybe later. After I've dried myself a bit. Let's go Teeks."

Fumika led Taichi and Takeru inside the house. Yuuko gave her three girls the evil eye, and the girls smiled apologetically.

* * *

Fumika and Yuuko showed Taichi and Takeru to a room that was supposed to be the guest room. The room had two single beds, two cabinets, and a desk.

After they got settled, Takeru lay down on his bed while Taichi leaned on the windowsill.

"I knew I shouldn't have come with you guys," Taichi grumbled as he attempted to dry his hair.

"Well, it's what you call karma, Tai," Takeru snickered. "You wanted to escape from Catherine, that's what you get. I, unfortunately, got involved in your karma."

"It would have been even worse for me if I went with Catherine," Taichi rationalized. "If I went with her, she'd expect us to get back together. And that is not my intention. I don't wanna give her false hope or anything like that."

And with that, he grabben a towel from his bag and walked out the door.

* * *

Mimi's voice sounded in the bathroom as she sang from inside the shower. Sora dried her hair, while Hikari was combing her own hair.

"Why the hell should we apologize to them? We didn't mean them any harm," Mimi ranted as she got ready to take a shower.

"Yeah. Whatever we do at our home is our business. If we want to splash around in the water and dance there, they shouldn't care. It's our house anyway," Sora agreed. "and if they want to leave, go ahead. They can leave as soon as they want to."

"But still, it's rude. He's my brother, and they're our guests." Hikari gently reminded them.

* * *

After Fumika and Yuuko led the boys to their rooms, they walked upstairs to the airy balcony of the house. This was the most quiet place in the house, where the sisters used to tell each other secrets when they were still little girls. This time, Fumika knew that she had to do her duty as an aunt and talk to her sister about the girls.

"Yuuko, you have to talk to your girls," Fumika scolded her younger sister. "They already wet my guests and made fun of them. I can understand Kari pulling a prank on her brother, but Sora and Mimi? They just attacked two complete strangers. And they have yet to apologize to either Tai or T.K."

They walked to the kitchen, and Yuuko started gathering supplies for the meal she was cooking.

"The girls study in a private school and are honor students, but they act like they don't know mere manners and proper conduct. You know what, I almost would have been impressed with you. You were able to raise those girls to become strong, intelligent, and confident," Fumika continued her tirade, "but then they show no proof that they know how to mingle with others. They're pretty self-centered, they don't care what others say, and above all, they don't care if they hurt other people just to get what they want."

Yuuko merely sighed as she walked with Fumika to the fish pens.

* * *

Sora and Hikari left the bathroom and closed the door. They stepped into a narrow hallway that was the meeting point of all the bedrooms in the house. Before they went into their separate rooms, Taichi said hello to the two girls before he went to the bathroom. He let himself into the shower and –

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!"

A scream came from inside the shower as Taichi ran like the wind out of the bathroom.

"OH MY GOD!"

Mimi's head popped out of the shower door just as Sora, Hikari, and Takeru ran out of their rooms into the hallway to see what the commotion was all about.

"What happened?" Hikari asked when she saw a terrified looking Taichi run out of the bathroom and stare at the bathroom door.

Mimi soon followed, wrapped in a pink towel and a hairbrush in hand. She pointed at Taichi and screamed, "This pervert has absolutely no breeding at all! He doesn't know how to knock on the door to see if there's someone inside. Hello! This is a bathroom! You don't just barge in, for God's sake. I was taking a shower for crying out loud!"

Taichi felt a vein throbbing under his eye with every word the girl screeched. He attempted to defend himself the best he could. "Excuse me, how was I to know there someone in there? The door was unlocked for Pete's sake. In a bathroom, when someone's taking a bath, the door _should_ be locked. Goodness, you don't know how to carry out a simple standard operating procedure."

Mimi's cinnamon eyes flared as she continued, "GO AHEAD AND DECK ME! I'm not scared of you. What are you looking at? You wanna fight? Bring it on! You think I won't fight back? Go on, attack me!"

Taichi rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I was brought up properly. If you were a guy, sure, I'd deck you. But you're a girl, so I won't hit you. And you better thank your lucky stars that I remember I'm Kari's brother and I'm a guest here in your house. AND… I _respect_ the fact that this is your territory!" He threw his towel down to the floor.

"Mimi, drop it, please," Hikari pleaded, in attempt to stop the fight. "He's my brother and they're our guests here. He didn't mean it. Please, just cut him some slack."

"Guys, come on. We're all gonna be celebrating the festival together for the first time," Takeru added. "Look at me, I came from Hokkaido, and Taichi comes from the city. So let's all calm down and keep our heads cool. Let's be patient with each other, try to get along, for all our sakes."

Mimi rolled her eyes and kept exchanging dirty looks with Taichi during Takeru's speech.

"He can shove his coming from the city up his ass," Mimi barked. "I don't care if he comes from the city or if he's from another world. I just have one opinion of him." She mellowed out and looked at Hikari. "With all due respect Kari… HE'S A SICK PERVERT!" She screamed the last part and threw the hairbrush at Taichi's head, then went back inside the bathroom and slammed the door closed.

Taichi glared at the closed bathroom door and went back in the guest room. Takeru looked at Sora and Hikari and sighed. He followed Taichi back into the room. Sora and Hikari meanwhile, exchanged one last meaningful look before departing for their bedrooms.

* * *

**Okay. I know that some of you want to knock Mimi off her high horse. Don't worry, that's going to be Tai's job throughout the whole story. And there will be more Michi moments, and there will be some Sorato and Takari next chapter. Promise!!! Please click that pretty green button down there. You know you want to...**


	3. Miss Suzaku Village 2009

As promised, here's Chapter 2 of Underage.

Once again, let's give a warm round of applause to my lovely beta: PrincessJaded *standing ovation*

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon and Underage. They belong to Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively.

Songs used in this chapter: **So Scandalous** by Mis Teeq and **Love, Sex, Magic** by Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake

* * *

Yuuko and Fumika walked around the fish pens gathering necessities for the festival. While the fishermen were anticipating the night's festivities, Yuuko and Fumika were having a less than merry discussion.

"Sister, will you _please_ stop meddling when it comes to raising the girls?" Yuuko pleaded. "I don't see anything wrong with them. They're pretty, intelligent, kind, and hardworking."

"Kind and hardworking?" Fumika scoffed. "Please. Do they even know how to cook, clean the house, or do the laundry?"

"Well, Mimi knows how to cook; Sora can clean, and Kari does the laundry," Yuuko replied, as they purchased tuna from the fishermen.

"But why don't they do it?" Fumika countered. "Until now, you're the one doing all the work."

Yuuko just gave Fumika a glance as if to say "just drop it."

But Fumika was far from finished. "Kind? Yes, they should be… to you! They should definitely be kind to you, you know why? It's because you give them _everything_ they ask for, Yuuko. You even send them to private school, even if you're already drowning in debt!"

Yuuko stopped walking and looked at her older sister straight in the eye. "Look Fumika, I don't care if I drown in debt. I just want them to be successful, and I don't want to feel like I've failed both Toshiko and Satoe. Is that so bad?"

"No, that isn't bad. Of course not. It's just that you forgot to teach them that before they reach their dreams, they'll meet a lot of people. In fact, too many people, and they can't step on all of these people. They'll be the ones stepped on," Fumika concluded.

"Sister, please, stop it!" Yuuko cried. "They're my girls, it's none of your business."

"None of my business? How can it be none of my business, Yuuko?!" Fumika snapped. "They're _my_ nieces and I helped take care of them. When you were depressed over the deaths of Toshiko and Satoe… oh and when Susumu left you, who helped you take care of the girls? I did, remember? Like I said, they're my nieces and of course I love them. But I'm not happy with what I see, you know that?"

At this point, Yuuko walked ahead of Fumika, in order to avoid the older woman's gaze, but Fumika kept at it.

"I'm telling you this because I have a feeling that they aren't ready for the outside world. I don't think they can function without you. So what if you keep on working hard for them to be successful? What if one day, you just suddenly died? What would happen, if we disappeared from their lives forever?"

At her older sister's last words, Yuuko stopped walking and looked at her sister with a terrified glint in her eyes. "Do you think that they can't handle the world when I'm gone?"

"I'm not saying you'll die, Yuuko," Fumika had now calmed considerably from her earlier rant. "You still have a long life ahead of you. But I'm just saying, at some point, parents have to ask themselves, if their children can live without them. How would life be for Sora, Mimi, and Hikari?"

Yuuko said nothing as she silently walked away from Fumika, biting her lip.

* * *

Sora and Hikari settled themselves on Mimi's queen-sized bed; rather Sora lay down on the middle of the bed, while Hikari sat on the edge near the window. Mimi herself dried her hair as she ranted about Taichi and Takeru.

"I have never ever been so humiliated in my entire life," she began. "I mean, lots of guys have courted me and I have _never_ accepted anyone of them. And this _guy_, of all people, is the first one to see me naked. He's not even my friend!"

"Life is so unfair," Sora sighed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Right, Kari?"

"And you, Kari!" The irate girl continued, not hearing a word of Sora's comment. "You even took his side! You made it look like I don't know how to treat visitors. It was Tai who was rude, yet you made me look like the bad guy."

Hikari just looked at Sora before rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Mimi, who had sat down on the bed.

"Why are you blaming me? Did I wish for my brother to see you naked? Did I want you to be humiliated? All I was saying was that we should treat our guests with respect and patience. It's our obligation to entertain them since we're their hosts during this festival," she ended her defense by looking away from Mimi.

"You should have just said that when it was just the three of us," Mimi snarled. "Not while they're in front of us."

"Hey, hey, that's enough!" Sora refereed as got up from her comfortable position. "Look, you're both right. This argument will never be settled, even at next year's festival it will still be going. Why should we argue, when all we have is each other?"

Both Mimi and Hikari looked at their oldest "sister" sullenly.

Sora, not taking notice of the looks she received, carried on. "Okay, here's the plan. Kari, you go apologize to the boys, since Tai is your flesh and blood anyway. It's more likely that he'll accept the apology coming from you. And you, Mimi, go get some beauty sleep. You have a pageant to win tonight for me, for Kari, and most of all, for Auntie Yuuko. You promised her, remember?"

At this, Mimi repentantly looked at Hikari, who looked back at Mimi.

"Sorry Kar!" Mimi apologized as the younger girl reached out to embrace her, Sora smiled happily from the sidelines.

* * *

Both Taichi and Takeru decided to explore the house; partly to see the rest of the house, and partly to get away from Mimi.

"I wonder how my brother's gonna react when he finds out about this?" Takeru teased as he and Taichi sat on the chairs in the garden. "You should have seen the look on your face when you came out of the bathroom."

"Not now, TK!" Taichi snapped at the younger boy.

"Seriously, are you okay?" the blond asked.

"Yeah. Goodness, that Mimi is so arrogant. I have never encountered anyone as overconfident as she is," Taichi bristled. "She can give Catherine a run for her money, you know that? Seriously, I have never ever met a girl who was that narcissistic. She's so conceited!"

"Ahem." A small voice coughed and caught their attention.

"Hey Kari," Taichi greeted as he looked up and saw his sister at the balcony. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, big brother." She grinned as she sat down on the ledge.

"Hey," Hikari and Takeru said to each other.

"Um… Listen, I'm sorry about Mimi's behavior earlier," Hikari apologized. "I hope you don't regret coming here. I mean, Mimi's really nice. I guess she just got overwhelmed, because honestly, it really is embarrassing for someone to see you naked."

Taichi said nothing as he and Takeru listened to his half-sister's apology. There was a bit of awkward silence after her apology before Takeru decided to break it.

"It's okay, Kari," he said as he flashed her a smile. "We understand. Right, Tai?" He clapped Tai on the shoulder.

"Speak for yourself, T.K.," Taichi jokingly snapped, as Hikari looked offended. "Kidding. It's all good… for now," he muttered the last part loud enough for only T.K. to hear.

Hikari raised an eyebrow at her brother before sweetly smiling at Takeru from the balcony.

* * *

Yuuko helped Mimi put on a necklace with a small emerald teardrop charm. "This used to be your mother's, Mimi. I'm sure she's so proud of you right now."

Mimi looked at her reflection and gratefully smiled. "Thanks Auntie Yuuko." She looked at Fumika and asked, "Am I pretty now, Auntie Fumika?"

"Is that even a question?" Fumika grinned. "You know what? You'll surely win tonight's beauty contest."

Mimi stood up from her vanity table as she posed for her foster-mother and aunt. She wore a floor-length pale pink strapless dress. It was made of chiffon and the bodice of the sweetheart neckline was ruched with small rhinestones adding details to the empire waistline. There was a slight spilt in the material at her ribs where the dress flowed out elegantly.

"Yeah!" Sora and Hikari agreed as they entered Mimi's room.

"You better get going, Mimi," Fumika reminded. "You have to be at the town square two hours before the pageant actually begins."

"Good luck, sweetheart," Yuuko said as she kissed Mimi's forehead. "Just don't be nervous. Don't forget, win or lose, you are my Miss Universe."

"Taichi and Takeru will take you there," Fumika added. "We'll just dress up and follow you."

"Oooh! Do hurry up, please," Mimi pleaded.

"Think happy thoughts," Sora coached as Mimi giggled in anticipation.

"Good luck, Mi," Hikari wished as Mimi walked out the door.

* * *

Taichi and Takeru waited for Mimi to come down. Takeru suddenly spotted Mimi gracefully coming down the steps. He tapped Taichi's shoulder and they looked Mimi over. Both boys smiled appreciatively as she reached the bottom step.

"You look good, Mimi," Takeru complimented once she reached them.

"Why, thanks, T.K.," Mimi sincerely smiled at his flattering remark. "Well, aren't you going to say anything, Tai? Or open the door for me?" she asked the brunet.

"Why? Am I your driver?" He snapped, obviously not getting that she was kidding.

"Who else?" Mimi quipped. "Auntie Fumie said that you're going to give me a ride."

"And if I don't want to? You gonna do anything about it?" Taichi snorted.

Mimi lost all smiles and replied, "How could you _not_ want to? You're lucky that I'm riding in your car, you know."

"What makes you say that?" He lashed back.

"For your information, I'm the princess of this town." The female replied as if she was stating a scientific fact that no one could argue with.

"Newsflash!" Taichi retorted as he waved a hand in front of Mimi's scowling face. "You haven't won yet, and you _won't_ be declared princess of this town. You've nothing to be proud of, anyway."

Takeru attempted to quell the tense situation, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"What do you mean nothing to be proud of?" Mimi asked.

"What can you boast about?" Taichi scoffed. "Perhaps, what I saw?" He smirked at the angry girl and ran his eyes up and down her body

"PERVERT!" Mimi screeched as she attempted to slap him. Attempted because he ducked the moment her hand moved, as a result, the air was the only thing the girl slapped.

"Look, can we just drop this?" Takeru asked as he got in the passenger's seat of the car.

Taichi snickered as he opened the back door of the car. "Get in."

Mimi stood still and looked at the mocking expression on his face.

"Get in the car," Taichi smirked. "Princess Mimi."

Mimi glared at Taichi one last time before she entered the car and he locked the door.

Taichi got into the driver's seat and Takeru gave him a look that said "grow up and live with it, for Aunt Fumika's sake."

* * *

Mimi, Taichi, and Takeru arrived at the town square. Everything was all set up for tonight's summer festival.

"Thanks for giving me a lift, T.K.," Mimi said gratefully as she got out of the car. She closed the door and completely ignoring Taichi as she walked off to the beauty pageant contestants' dressing room.

Taichi and Takeru got out of the car just in time for Taichi to shout, "Thanks so much!" at Mimi's back.

Looking at Takeru, he grumbled, "Let's just tell your brother that we're going ahead to your place. One more hour with _her_ and I'm going to suffer from hypertension. My head's already aching."

"What?" Takeru laughed, as he put on a black jacket with the words "Odaiba High School Basketball Team" at the back.

"Not funny, Teeks."

"Tai, just suck it up… for Auntie Fumika's, Auntie Yuuko's, and Kari's sakes." The younger boy counseled, as he fixed the sleeves of his jacket.

"Okay." Taichi breathed in and out. "For Auntie Fumika, Auntie Yuuko, and Kari."

* * *

While the other contestants were getting themselves ready for the pageant, Mimi was talking to Sora on her cell phone.

"Sor, you have to come here, fast," Mimi whined "I'm nearing a nervous breakdown here. T.K. is a sweet kid, but that Tai is pissing me off to death. I need moral support!"

* * *

"Mimi's so vain!" Taichi shouted at Takeru for possibly the hundredth time that night. "Open the door, I'm getting in. I'm the princess of this town." He did a poor imitation of Mimi. "She's so conceited. I'm tempted to teach her a lesson."

"Seems to me you've met your match, Tai," Takeru sniggered as Taichi continued to rant about the honey-haired girl.

"Again… _not_ funny." Taichi glared at him.

"Fine. Then teach her a lesson," the blond suggested. "Look, I'm also pissed at her, more because of the way she's treating you."

"Why don't I drown her down the lake," Taichi said honestly, "and let her fight the sharks. No wait… I'd pity the sharks." They laughed at the last part.

* * *

"Excuse us." Sora and Hikari made their way into the dressing room where Mimi was putting on her make up.

"Sor! Kari!" Mimi exclaimed. "Thank God you got here."

"What did Tai do to you anyway?" Sora asked.

"He said that I couldn't win the pageant," Mimi complained, "He said that I had nothing to be proud of."

"He actually said that?" Hikari gasped. "That was pretty rude of him."

"Don't mind him. No offense Kari, but he's a useless guy. We'll just get back at him when this is all over," Sora consoled. "Sorry Kari, but it's a must," she added, looking at the youngest girl's protesting expression.

"Now, relax, Meems," Hikari instructed. "Breathe in. Breathe out."

* * *

Taichi ranted about Mimi some more and wished her all sorts of misfortune, until Takeru made a sign for him to shut up and listen.

"Hmm… how about this? Why don't you make her fall for you?" Takeru said, a devious smirk forming on his face.

"What, like woo her?" Taichi exclaimed. "I can't even stand her guts!"

"Yes, Tai. I understand that," Takeru replied as though he was conversing with a two year old.

"Teeks, she's not even my type. She's just going to waste my time," Taichi sighed.

"But, as you and my brother keep saying," Takeru reminded his brother's best friend, "you get the girl, dump her, and make her experience hell."

"Look, I've met a lot of prettier, more sophisticated girls in Odaiba," Taichi retored. "She's just a waste of time."

"Maybe you _can't_ handle her," Takeru taunted.

"Are you saying I'm scared of her?" Taichi scoffed. "T.K., I can get a girl with just one glance. No words are spoken, and we're already together."

"If that's the case, then what's one day? In one day, I dare you to get Mimi," Takeru challenged. "And to make things interesting, let's bet."

"Bet? What kind of bet?" Taichi perked up as he looked at the younger boy suspiciously.

"A thousand yen. One thousand yen if you get Mimi in twenty-four hours," Takeru replied coolly. "So, call?"

"Call, little man!"

"Call?"

"Call!"

"That's what I like about you, Tai," Takeru said as they engaged in a man-hug. "And I think I've been hanging around Davis, my brother, and you too much." He added under his breath when they broke apart.

Unfortunately the older boy heard him and replied, "Too true! You hang around us too much!"

* * *

It was finally time for the pageant. Yuuko, Fumika, Sora, Hikari, Taichi, and Takeru were sitting in the audience waiting for it to start. Their waiting was put to an end when the announcer came up on the stage.

"Let us all welcome the lovely candidates in 2009's Miss Suzaku Village Pageant!" The announcer shouted as Mimi and the other girls competing joined the announcer onstage.

The audience cheered as the girls started introducing themselves.

A girl with green eyes and black hair came up to the microphone and said, "My name is Hoshi Yuuki from Genbu Village!"

Next was a girl with gray eyes and pale blonde hair came up the stage and introduced herself. "I am Hanako Edo of Seiryuu Town!"

After her, a blue-eyed brunette took her turn and stated, "My name is Minako Hongo from Byakko Town!"

When it was Mimi's turn, she announced, "I am Mimi Tachikawa of Suzaku Village!"

After Mimi's statement, this was the loudest the people cheered so far, with Yuuko, Fumika, Sora, Hikari, Taichi, and Takeru being the loudest.

* * *

"And now to show us her talent is none other than candidate number seven, Miss Mimi Tachikawa!" The announcer shouted as the audience clapped and cheered for Mimi, who went up the stage with her back-up dancers, Sora and Hikari, and they posed seductively onstage.

Mimi was dressed in a light green tube top, an emerald green mini-skirt, and black boots. Sora and Hikari were wearing red and pink halter-tops respectively, dark denim skinny jeans, and the same black boots as Mimi's. While Mimi had her honey-brown hair in low pigtails, the back-up dancers had their hair down.

The girls danced when the music played.

**So, so, so scandalous  
You know you wanna sing with us (baby)  
That's why you know you should be scared of us (baby) **

**Non stop looks to kill  
Straight talk sex appeal  
One touch gives me chills and we ain't even close yet  
Rough neck all around  
Inking all over town  
Show me how you get down  
Cos we ain't even close yet**

As the girls danced onstage, the audience cheered and some boys even made catcalls. Yuuko tearfully clapped for them as Fumika's words rang in her mind.

"_I'm not saying you'll die, Yuuko. You still have a long life ahead of you. But I'm just saying, at some point, parents have to ask themselves, if their children can function without them. How would life be for Sora, Mimi, and Hikari?"_

* * *

_Four years ago, Yuuko Yagami had a check-up with her gynecologist who revealed that she was going to die soon. _

"_So, you're saying that my case is hopeless, doctor?" Yuuko hopelessly asked the woman behind the desk. "My breast cancer is at Stage IV? It's already terminal?" At this point, she started crying._

"_I'm sorry, Mrs. Yagami," the doctor sadly apologized. _

"_Doctor! Please! I'm begging you! Find a way!" Yuuko cried, beyond hysteria. "My girls are still so young. They're just in high school. They can't live independently on their own! Doctor, what would happen to them if I die? How would they be able to endure life?" _

* * *

All that flashed in Yuuko's mind as she tearfully watched and cheered for Mimi, Sora, and Hikari, who were happily dancing on that stage.

The music suddenly changed as the three girls changed their formation.

**All night show with just you and the crowd  
Doin' tricks you've never seen  
And I bet that I can make you believe  
In love and sex and magic  
So let me drive my body around ya  
I bet you know what I mean  
Cause you know that I can make you believe  
In love and sex and magic**

Yuuko continued to cry while the girls danced on stage. Fumika noticed this.

"What's wrong, Yuuko?" She asked as she out a comforting hand on her younger sister's shoulder.

"Just tears of joy, sister," Yuuko replied as she smiled.

"They're just dancing up there and you're already crying?" Fumika asked. "What's more, if Mimi's crowned Miss Suzaku Village your tears will probably drown the whole town!"

"Just let me be, Fumie," Yuuko whispered.

"I admire you a lot, you know why? Although you have committed lots of sins in this world, but the love you have for your daughters is incomparable. You have loved those girls so much. I am so proud of you." Fumika admitted as she wiped away her younger sister's tears and wrapped her in a huge embrace.

"Thanks, sister," Yuuko whispered as she hugged Fumika back.

* * *

The girls bowed out of the stage and went to the dressing room. Sora and Hikari helped Mimi dress up in her evening gown.

"I think you nailed the talent portion, Mi," Sora said as she unpacked Mimi's evening gown.

"Yeah, I think so too," Hikari agreed. "The audience was cheering pretty loud."

"How about Tai? Did he clap?" Mimi sardonically asked.

"That's for sure!" Sora confidently assured her foster sister. "He surely couldn't help but admire you. After all, no guy can resist admiring you."

"Whatever! Even if he clapped as loudly as a thunderstorm, I still _won't_ forgive him for what he said to me." Mimi quipped.

"I told you Tai was easy to handle. Now just concentrate on winning this contest." Sora said, "Do justice to the gown I designed especially for you."

* * *

While Yuuko and Fumika were having a sisterly moment, Taichi and Takeru had a different discussion beside the two women.

"So you think Mimi is worth a thousand yen?" Takeru asked, smirking at Taichi's awestruck face.

"Good enough," Taichi replied condescendingly.

"Good enough?" Takeru repeated.

"Good enough," Taichi affirmed.

* * *

The contestants were onstage with the announcer again. Mimi wore a light orange and white gown that hugged her curves nicely. The straps were embellished with sparkly beads that matched the orange sun embroideries on the skirt. The back was open, giving a flirty and fun appeal.

From the audience, Sora smiled at the way her design suited Mimi. She was engrossed with her creation that she wouldn't have realized it was Mimi's turn in the question and answer portion if it weren't for Kari nudging her.

"Miss Mimi Tachikawa, if you were made to choose," the announcer asked, "would you rather be rich and unhappy or poor and happy?"

The announcer handed the microphone to Mimi who replied, "I choose neither."

"But you only have two choices, Miss Tachikawa."

"I can create a third choice," Mimi said confidently. "I don't have to be poor to be happy and I don't have to be unhappy to be rich. I can be both happy and rich. I can make _that_ happen. Thank you, very much."

Among the cheering audience, Taichi shouted to Takeru, "Woah! Too confident! What a windbag!"

"Very well said, candidate number seven," the announcer said as Mimi went back to her place.

* * *

The pageant was coming to a close. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating tonight's winner.

The contestants were lined up onstage behind the announcer.

"And now, the long wait is over," she said. "Our new Miss Suzaku Village is… MISS MIMI TACHIKAWA!"

The audience cheered, with Yuuko, Sora, and Hikari practically screaming their lungs out as Mimi went to the front of the stage to claim her prize and be crowned.

"Congratulations, Miss Mimi," the announcer said cheerfully. "Miss Mimi, now you may present your speech."

"Thank you," Mimi responded and accepted the microphone. "First of all, I would like to thank the judges, the townspeople who've supported me, and most of all, God. I didn't expect to win this. Okay, maybe I did," She said tearfully, but blushed guiltily when she said the last part. "It's an honor and a dream come true for me to become Miss Suzaku Village 2009. Thank you so much, everyone!"

"And I also want to share this special moment with my family. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now. So Auntie Yuuko, Auntie Fumie, Sora and Kari, can you please join me up here?"

She motioned to the four women to come onstage. Once they had actually joined her there, they took turns hugging the new Miss Suzaku Village.

"Auntie," Mimi said when she looked at Yuuko, "this is for you. You are the Miss Universe in my life." She then took the crown off her head and crowned the older woman with it and gave her scepter as well. Mimi embraced the woman who she considered her mother.

"Thank you, everyone," she continued speaking through her tears "for your admiration and for choosing me. But I didn't compete just for the admiration. I competed in this contest because I wanted to make this speech to show the world the most important person in my life, my foster-mother, who I love so much, Yuuko Yagami.

"Since we were younger, she has shed many tears. A lot of you question her morality, just because Sora and I are adopted, and Hikari is illegitimate. But that's the only thing you see in her. Now I want to share with you how we see her. For us, she's a loving mother, who's given us everything we needed and more. We are not rich, we only have a few livestock, a little fish pen, but we never experienced any hardships. I have no idea how Auntie did it. All I know is all we have and all that we are… we owe it to her.

"So, my fellow town folks let us give a warm round of applause to my loving foster-mother, Miss Yuuko Yagami."

The townspeople stood up and gave the family a standing ovation.

* * *

Later that evening, everyone went to the varying booths at the town square. The host from the pageant earlier went onto the stage and made an announcement. "Just as we do every year, the time has come for the bidding to begin for a chance to date our winner. The proceeds of this bidding will go to the construction of our elementary school."

Mimi, who received congratulatory remarks from the townspeople, stood by the music booth with Sora and Hikari. Her face lit up in excitement when she heard the announcement.

"I finally know how to get back at Tai!" She squealed.

"What is it?!" Sora and Hikari exclaimed.

Mimi went into military strategist mode at once. "Sora, convince Aunt Fumie to get Tai to bid for me."

"You want Tai to bid for you?" Sora asked incredulously. "You can't stand his guts, right?"

"Just do it!" Mimi hissed.

"Oh!" A flash of understanding came to Sora's and Hikari's minds.

"Okay, Mi. I'll do it." Sora grinned as she ran to their aunt.

"Mi, whatever you do, don't be too mean to him," Hikari warned as she ran off.

"Where are you going?" Mimi asked.

"I'll go distract Mom's attention," the youngest girl replied.

* * *

Okay! Chapter Two was over and out. Please click that pretty green button you see. You know you want to! First one to guess where I got the village names from will receive cookies from me! 10 reviews before I post the next chapter. Please and thank you!


	4. Bidding War and a Guided Tour

Here is Chapter 3 of UnderAGE. I know I said ten reviews, but nevermind that. I really hope you readers enjoy the chapter and stick with me throughout the whole story! *hugs*

Once again, I would like to thank my beautiful beta **PrincessJaded**. *audience throws her some flowers along with the usual standing ovation*

As promised, there is now some Takari in this chapter. Hopefully, you Takari lovers are satisfied.

As always: I don't own Digimon and UnderAGE. They belong to Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively.

* * *

Sora was a girl on a mission that night. Her mission was to convince her Aunt Fumika to get Hikari's half-brother to bid for her foster-sister/best friend, Mimi.

'_How did I get myself into this? Kari and I should have switched duties,'_ the redheaded beauty thought as she made her way through the crowd. _'Thank goodness for tennis, or else I wouldn't be flexible enough to have made it here without getting clobbered by the crowd.'_ By here, she meant a foot away from her foster-mother, her aunt, and their two guests.

"Now's my chance!" she whispered to herself when she saw Hikari drag Yuuko away to the food stalls. "Psst! Aunt Fumie," she frantically hissed, gesturing for the older woman to come to her. "I need to talk to you. _Alone_." she added when Taichi and Takeru were about to walk over to her too.

"What is it, Sora?" Fumika asked her foster-niece. "What's the emergency?"

"Auntie, I'm about to ask you a huge favor."

"Well, go on…"

"Auntie. I, rather, _we_ need you to convince Tai to bid for Mimi," Sora urgently replied.

"What?!" Fumika's eyes grew wide in shock at her niece's request.

"Please. Just do it!" Sora pleaded, practically going down on her knees.

"I – I'll try." Fumika stammered as she walked over to the boys.

"Ooooh! Thank you, Auntie Fumie!" Sora exclaimed as she ran off to Mimi. _'The things I think of, say, and do for that girl…' _

* * *

"So, Auntie, what did Sora want?" Takeru asked when Fumika walked back to them. He noticed the grim expression on his landlady's face when she looked at Taichi. "Is it any life-threatening?" he added as a lame attempt to make the woman smile.

"No, T.K. It's nothing to worry about… at least for you," she replied. "But Tai, I need you to bid for Mimi." She beseechingly looked him in the eyes as she stated her request.

"You want me to bid for her?!" Taichi incredulously exclaimed, his russet eyes growing wide.

"Yes," she replied grimly. "I want you to be my niece's date tomorrow rather than some idiot from here because they just might do something awful to her." _'Sora and Mimi, you girls __owe me huge for this…_' she thought wryly.

"Why would they do that to her?" Takeru joined the conversation. _'She may be a little too arrogant for her own good but the town can't want her dead.'_

'_Enlighten me, Auntie Fumika, why should I bid for that little Princess anyway?'_ Taichi grumbled to himself.

"Come on boys, you heard her speech back there, didn't you? That was a direct hit for the townspeople who have hurt her foster-mother, who happens to be my sister," she explained as though replying to their thoughts. "Please Tai, do it for me," she begged him as she put her hands together, as if she was praying.

'_Oh great… I'm trapped.'_ "Oh… okay," Tai conceded, running his hand through his bushy head of hair.

"Promise, Tai?" she asked. _'Mimi and Sora, you girls better not have anything reckless in mind. It's really embarrassing to do this.' _

"P – promise, Auntie," he replied, now wearing a trapped expression aside from having his hand in his hair.

"I'm counting on you." She whispered to him before walking off to her sister.

Throughout the whole exchange, Takeru's eyes moved back and forth between his landlady and his brother's best friend. His facial expression ranged from curiosity, to surprise, and when Fumika left, he had a sly grin on his face.

'_Oh, kill me. Kill me now!'_ Taichi thought to himself as he cringed at the notion of bidding for a chance to date Mimi. "What's with the grin, Teeks?" he asked once he noticed the younger boy's expression. "I have to bid for that girl!"

Takeru simply shrugged and said, "It does make sense that you'd have to bid for her. Cause if you don't, she won't be available tomorrow. If she's not available tomorrow, then you can't teach her that lesson."

"Look, little man, I'm going to lose a lot more than a thousand yen if I bid for her," Taichi attempted to explain but then Takeru interrupted.

"Wait! So you're doing the bet for the money?! Tai, you're already freaking, filthy, stinking rich! You don't need the one thousand yen," Takeru shouted. "What's important here is the challenge. The lesson, remember?" he supplied as he softened his voice.

'_Thank goodness the music is too loud for them to hear us. Otherwise, I hate to think what's going to happen,'_ he added to himself as he realized that Mimi and the other women were just two feet away from them.

The whole time, Taichi gazed over to where Mimi stood eating the rice balls Hikari bought for them at a stall. _'So much for spending only one thousand yen on her.' Hmm... She's not bad on the eyes, but really, she could use an attitude adjustment.'_

"Or maybe you're scared of her?" Takeru taunted as he poked Tai's left arm.

"You talking to _me_? No, I'm not scared of her," Taichi scoffed. "I wasn't declared one of the bravest students of Odaiba High School for nothing."

"Right. Sure." the blond sneered as Taichi pulled a game face.

* * *

While Taichi and Takeru were in the middle of the crowd, Mimi, Sora, Hikari, Yuuko, and Fumika stood near the stage, eating the rice balls Yuuko and Hikari bought from the food stalls. When the announcer from the beauty pageant beckoned Mimi to join her onstage, the three girls exchanged a look before Mimi obeyed the announcer's instructions.

'_This is it. Auntie Fumie, you better have convinced Tai to do this or my plans will go up in smoke!_' Mimi thought as she flashed her prettiest smile to the townspeople in the audience.

All the young men of the village suddenly took turns in pushing each other in attempt to get to the front row, right in front of the stage. The struggle to the front almost got brutal if the announcer didn't say, "Let the bidding begin! Who wants to go first?"

"One thousand five hundred yen!"

"One thousand five hundered yen. Any higher?"

"Three sacks of rice!"

"Oh! Three sacks of rice," the announcer gasped while the audience started whispering and anticipating the results of this auction.

'_Tai, please be the highest bidder,_' Mimi, Sora, and Hikari silently prayed.

Taichi and Takeru waited for the right time to bid. Taichi was about to name his price when someone shouted, "Fifteen thousand!"

"Can anyone go any higher?" the announcer challenged the audience.

'_You can do this, Tai!_' Takeru mentally encouraged his bushy-haired friend as he raised his hands to the air and looked at the older boy as if to say, "Go bid already!"

'_This is it! I can't believe I'm doing this.'_ Taichi thought to himself as he shouted, "TWENTY THOUSAND!"

At this point, everyone in the audience was buzzing with gossip. They all wondered who could have that much money to throw away in the first place.

"Twenty thousand! Do I hear more? No? Sold!" the announcer shouted.

The minute the announcer declared that Taichi won the bid, Sora, Hikari, Yuuko, and Fumika led the audience in screaming, cheering, and clapping for Taichi.

"I'd like to invite our winner to join us here on stage!" the announcer requested as Taichi made his way through the crowd that magically parted for him.

When he reached Fumika, the older lady patted him on the shoulder while Hikari hugged him and said, "Thanks, big bro!"

Takeru went in front and joined the girls who were eagerly watching the exchange between Mimi and Taichi. '_They look pretty good together. Too bad they don't get along_.'

'_**This is gonna be good!'**_ Sora and Hikari thought as they giggled at the ongoing banter onstage.

* * *

Mimi smiled sweetly as Taichi came up and joined her on stage. '_He's really cute if you just look at him. What a shame I hate his guts…_'

"I believe I owe you my tomorrow?" she sweetly asked him once he was next to her.

"For ten thousand yen, yes," he wittily replied. "And it better be worth my time, along with my ten thousand yen."

"I promise. I can give you a day that you could never, ever forget for the rest of your life," she promised him flirtatiously, her eyes staring alluringly into his eyes.

"Never ever forget? Really? Wow!" Taichi exclaimed as he looked at Mimi with curious eyes. "You sure about that?"

"Trust me, Tai. You're about to experience the most unforgettable day of your life." She sweetly smiled at him. '_Oh you have no idea what you're in for, Taichi Yagami…_'

* * *

The following day, Mimi woke up with a grin on her face. After fixing her bed, she went over to the little mortuary tablet near her potted flowers. The mortuary tablet bore the name _"Satoe Tachikawa."_ Mimi knelt beside it, put her hands together, and prayed in front of it for a few minutes.

During her moment of silence, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," she announced.

The door opened and Sora poked her head in. "Good morning, Mi. Auntie sent me to wake you up."

"I'll be right there, Sora," Mimi replied before Sora pulled her head out of the door.

* * *

Mimi walked down the stairs and into the dining room dressed in her fuchsia nightgown along with her pageant crown and sash, her scepter clutched in her pale hands. She saw Sora holding a bouquet of pink tulips, while Hikari and Yuuko were eating their breakfast.

"Congratulations, Miss Suzaku Village!" they shouted as Mimi came to the last step. Sora ran to Mimi, handed her the bouquet, and kissed her on both cheeks.

"Thanks," the beauty queen replied gratefully. She turned to the older woman and asked, "Auntie, are you proud of me?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I'm proud of you, Miss Suzaku Village." Yuuko replied as Mimi took her place on the table.

"What did you think of my speech?" Mimi asked as they all helped themselves to pancakes and orange juice.

"Upon hearing your speech, I realized that I can die a happy woman right now." Yuuko replied emphatically.

"Mom! The point of Mimi's speech was 'long live, Mom!' and you're gonna die?" Hikari pouted.

"Auntie was only joking, right?" Sora said, looking at Yuuko for reassurance.

Yuuko mysteriously smiled at the girls and they silently enjoyed their breakfast until Sora broke the silence.

"I can't believe Tai actually bid twenty thousand yen just to date Mimi!" She exclaimed. "Seems to me, you've attracted his attention." Sora winked at the honey-haired girl who simply blushed and smiled.

"Of course he's got to pay. My time is money, you know? After all, I did promise him a day he'll _never ever_ forget…" Mimi trailed off as she continued eating.

"What are you planning to do anyway?" Hikari asked worriedly.

"Don't be such a worry-wart, Kari. Believe me, I have everything planned out," Mimi assured the youngest girl. "Now, I have to go and get ready."

* * *

Sora and Hikari settled on Mimi's bed, the former was reading while the latter tinkered with a digital camera. Mimi herself got ready for her "date" with Taichi. While the beauty queen was excited for today's events, the other two were slightly worried. After all, Mimi wasn't only known in the village for her looks and talents. She also had a reputation for getting people back with a vengeance terribly scary to see.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" Sora asked warily without looking up from her book.

"I don't want to spoil it, yet, Sora," Mimi replied from inside her walk-in closet. "But I assure you, it's going to be good."

"Remember, just don't be too hard on him," the older girl reminded. "You promised Kari…" '_I really hope Mimi keeps her promise. Tai doesn't deserve that much humiliation…' _

At this point, Mimi came out of the closet dressed in a strapless lime green sundress and black ballet flats.

"Seriously, Mimi. What's your plan?" Hikari asked as she took a picture of Mimi. "I don't want my brother to get hurt badly. If you didn't feel so humiliated, I wouldn't even let you do this in the first place."

"Kari, how many times do I have to tell you, don't worry. I have everything under control."

"By the way, Auntie Fumie said that Tai's already waiting for you at the Sayuri River," Sora informed.

"Well, wish me luck!" Mimi giggled as she grabbed her bag and walked out the door. '_Oh, this is going to be so much fun!_'

* * *

Yuuko and Fumika enjoyed some sisterly bonding as they swept the leaves in the garden. The sun beating down on their backs made it pretty challenging for them to get the job done fast. Neither sister was complaining about that since it gave them more time to chat.

"Why don't we go out for a change?" Yuuko suggested, sweeping the leaves on the ground.

"Wow. That's new," Fumika joked. "I thought we were going to be stuck here doing garden work."

The sisters had a little laugh for a while as they debated where they could go. When they finally decided to simply walk around town, they settled into comfortable silence.

"You know what, Yuuko?" Fumika suddenly asked. "After Mimi's speech last night, I realized that I want to get married, and have a kid of my own."

"Well, why don't you get married then?" Yuuko asked her sister teasingly. "With that beauty of yours?"

"Who was the one who adopted two girls, ran away from home, and got married to a married man?" Fumika retorted scathingly. "Thus leaving me to take care of mom and dad. It's your fault I became a spinster!"

"Okay, that was my fault," Yuuko apologized. "Even though you're too old to have children, you can still get married. Eighty year old women still get married!"

"I just can't," Fumika said sadly, still sweeping the leaves, and looking at anything but her sister.

"You haven't found a man for you, yet?" Yuuko inquireded gently.

"No," Fumika reported, although something in her face and voice said otherwise.

"I know that tone, Fumie! There _is_ someone!" Yuuko teased.

"There's no one," the older sister vehemently denied.

"Why does my sixth sense tell me there is?" Yuuko questioned as they gathered the swept leaves together. Fumika said nothing out loud, but her facial expression was one of surrender.

"Oh! That smile!" Yuuko teased, since Fumika was now shyly smiling. "Confess, Fumie! Confess!"

"Oh alright! There is someone!" Fumika conceded. "But no matter how much I think about it, I don't think it's going to work out."

"How will you know if you don't even try?" Yuuko asked. "As long as both your hearts are in it, you ought to give it a shot! Fumie! I can't believe you're being so secretive!" She finished as she jokingly shoved her sister.

They continued shoving each other like little kids until Takeru appeared from inside the house. "Good morning!" He greeted the two women.

"Good morning," Yuuko spoke plesantly.

"T.K.! Where's Tai?" Fumika asked.

"Well, he's with Miss Suzaku Village," he replied, as if stating the obvious but still keeping a respectful tone.

"Oh right! Last night's bidding," Fumika realized.

"Auntie Fumika! Come on, let's go out too," Takeru pleaded, giving his landlady the puppy-dog pout.

"You want me to come with you?" Fumika disbelievingly replied. "You know as well as I do that I am the only person immune to that pout, aside from your family. So it's not going to work."

"Please, Auntie?" he pouted some more.

"I'll be back," she replied as she rushed into the house. '_I have an idea. I hope it works.'_

* * *

Sora and Hikari were done with their morning chores and were lounging around in the living room. Sora was dressed in her white tennis outfit, with a racket in hand and her bag on her shoulder, and Hikari had her camera in hand as she attempted to fix its settings. Sora stood up and opened the door to leave for her tennis practice when she saw Fumika on the other side.

"Sora? Kari? May I ask you girls a favor?" Fumika asked.

"Uhm… what is it?" Hikari inquired, looking at her aunt.

Fumika joined Hikari on the couch and Sora leaned on the doorframe. "Can one of you girls take T.K. around town?" she asked her nieces. "He'll be leaving in a few hours and all he's seen is the town square. Take pity on him, girls."

"Aunt Fumie, as much as I'd love to challenge him to a game of tennis today, I can't," Sora informed. "I have tennis practice until five this afternoon. Sorry, Auntie." '_Besides, he's better off talking to Kari. They're the same age anyway.' _

"Kari?"

"No!" the anguished young girl cried. "I – I can't take him around. Sora, can't you take him to the courts with you?" she pleaded. '_SORA!!! How could you do THIS to me?' _

"No outsiders allowed, Kari," Sora said. "He'd be locked out of the courts since Coach explicitly said no one who's outside the team is allowed."

"You know what, honey? Don't be scared of him," Fumika advised. "You have nothing to worry about. That boarder of mine is a good kid. Whatever I ask him to do, he'd do it. He's sweet, funny, courteous, and kind. Do this for me, Kari? Please!"

'_I guess I have no choice._' Hikari resigned herself to keeping a boy company all day. "What will I say to him? What should we talk about? Where do we go? What will we do?" The youngest girl panicked.

"Just go with the flow. Whatever he wants to talk about, that's what you do, Kar. As entertaining as it is watching you panic, I have to go," Sora said as she walked out the door. "Bye Kari! Have fun with T.K.! Bye Auntie Fumie!"

'_Good luck to me…_' the girl nervously thought as she made her way to her room to get dressed for the day.

* * *

Dressed in a yellow eyelet top, black shorts, black flip-flops, and her digital camera hanging from her neck, Hikari walked at least two feet away from Takeru's left. Takeru meanwhile, was dressed in a blue shirt, grey shorts, and rubber shoes.

She knew that she had no choice but to keep the boy with her happy. After all, he was her brother's friend as well as her aunt's guest. She hated men, and everyone in her family knew it. The mystery remained was why they forced her to keep T.K. company despite knowing that fact.

So far, she had taken him to the Suzaku Shrine, the Kinomoto Stream, and the Yamanaka Botanical Gardens. All three places had wonderful scenery, which she took pictures of, after telling him about each place. She decided that this was enough; she was being hospitable and she didn't have to stay next to him the whole time.

Takeru simply followed as he admired the girl's skill in photography, yet at the same time a single thought ran through his mind. '_Aside from the guided tour of the place, why won't she talk to me?_'

When they got to a white marble lighthouse, Hikari broke the silence and shared, "This is the Hofileña Lighthouse. Off all places here in Suzaku Village, this is my favorite."

'_Finally, she speaks!_' Takeru rejoiced. "Why do you love this place? What's special about it?" he asked out loud.

Hikari simply smiled as she led him to the top of the lighthouse. When they got to the top, Takeru was amazed by the lovely view of Suzaku Village from there. All the while, Hikari stood at least five feet away from him, leaned on the rails while she clicked away with her camera.

"You always seem to be taking pictures rather than talking to me," Takeru observed when he looked at her. "Don't you like me? Tell me, were you forced to accompany me today?" He asked gently as he approached her. "Be honest."

Hikari stopped taking pictures, looked over to Takeru and replied, "Sort of…" At this, she had a meek look in her eyes.

"We could just go home if you want," he offered as he made his way to her.

"No! We can't!" Hikari rejected his offer with a terrified look in her eyes. "Cause if we go home, Aunt Fumika will get angry and say that I don't know how to treat visitors. You're our guest, so I have to entertain you. Don't get me wrong, T.K., it's not that I don't like you, it's just… I don't know how to keep you happy."

By this time, he was next to her. He put a hand on the rails, leaned towards the chocolate haired girl and said, "I'm just a simple guy. It's easy to keep me happy. Just by seeing you eating ice cream, that's enough to make me happy."

Hikari looked at the blond doubtfully and asked with the same amount of doubt in her voice, "That's all I have to do? Eat ice cream?"

He nodded vigorously as he assured her, "Yeah, that's it. Let's go get some already. After all, it's getting way too warm here for my liking."

"If it's ice cream you want, it's ice cream you're gonna get," Hikari replied. "I'm now taking you to the best ice cream shop in Japan!"

They got out of the lighthouse and walked over to an ice cream shop that was a few blocks away. This time, Takeru pointed out some subjects for Hikari to take pictures of.

While they "bonded," Hikari's impression of Takeru gradually changed. From hating him for his gender, she kind of appreciated him for his sweet disposition and sense of humor. She wasn't that scared of him anymore, but she was almost kind of comfortable talking to him. She was also grateful for his respect to her unspoken wishes. He was determined enough to let them both have a good time, but he didn't push her to do things she didn't want to.

When they got to the ice cream shop, they ordered two chocolate cones that Takeru generously paid for despite Hikari's shy protests.

"You're right, Kari," Takeru grinned as he licked his ice cream cone. "This is the best ice cream in Japan."

"You're probably just saying that to be nice," Hikari countered. "I bet you've tasted better ice cream in the city."

"I'm serious. This is the best I've tasted," he rebutted, taking another lick.

They walked around the village with Hikari showing him some more of the rural side of Suzaku Village. They stayed in that comfortable silence until Takeru decided to start letting the pretty girl beside him know what he really thought of her.

"Congratulations on your dance number last night," he complimented. "Not only are you a photographer, you're also a great dancer!"

"Thanks," the girl blushed at his flattering remark.

"No problem," the blond boy grinned. "You know what, it's good that you didn't consider joining that beauty contest. Cause if you had, I'm sure you would have defeated your sister."

Hikari's eyes widened with shock as she laughed out loud. "Not really. Besides, Mimi's always been the beauty queen among the three of us."

"That may be the case. But if you ask me, I think you're the loveliest one among them all. That includes your mother and Auntie Fumika," Takeru confessed openly.

Hikari said nothing but blushed and shyly smiled at Takeru as she stole a glance at him.

* * *

A little explanation back there. I based the value of a sack of rice on prices here in the Philippines. A sack of rice costs PHP 1,500/USD 32, making that JPY 3,083. Hence, three sacks of rice costs JPY 9,250 (PHP 4500 OR USD 93). This is according to the ForEx rate for May 1 2009. By the way, JPY 1,000 is equivalent to USD 10.

Well, there you have it. Chapter 3 of UnderAGE. If you want me to update sooner, please click the pretty green button. There will be Sorato (at last) and more Michi to look forward to.


	5. Embarrassment and Introduction

**Here's the next chapter of UnderAGE. As promised, there is Sorato and some more Michi! Yaaay! **

**Please give a nice round of applause to my amazing beta PrincessJaded!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or UnderAGE. I don't own the songs used in the chapter either. **

* * *

Taichi walked all the way to the river Sora instructed him to go, his excitement and doubt increasing with every step he took. He knew he had to be on his guard today. He didn't trust Mimi and he had no idea what she meant by "fun." Her definition of "a day he'll never forget" could be him having a near-death experience or something along those lines. The thing was, he found himself intrigued by the pretty girl. She could be so cruel and arrogant to him, yet incredibly sweet and kind to everyone else.

He took in the beauty of the scenery. Heck, he rarely saw fresh, clear, running water back in the city that wasn't coming from a faucet. With the perfectly white marble domes, evergreen trees, flowers and fruits in full bloom, and the perfectly clean blue river, the place looked like one of those paintings his dad loved collecting.

He almost considered calling Takeru for back up should anything go wrong, but then he realized that the younger boy would never let him hear the end of it, and it would spread to the boarding house and the whole school by the first day of class in September. He had no intention of being known as "the guy who was afraid of a girl from the province."

"Tai!" a high-pitched voice shattered the silence. He looked up to one of the big rocks nearby and he saw Mimi perched there, looking like a fairy in her green outfit and her caramel locks tumbling down.

'_A fairy on the outside, but inside lurks the heart and soul of a she-devil,_' he thought ruefully.

"You found me!" she sweetly called as she gracefully got down from the rock.

'_You can do this, Tai. What's the worse that could happen?'_

"Are you ready to spend a day with me?" Mimi asked playfully when she reached his side. "After all, I did promise you a day you'll remember forever."

"I'm always ready for you, Mimi," Taichi replied humorously. "So, what are we supposed to do here anyway?" he asked, holding his arm for her.

"It's a surprise," she answered before taking his arm.

In his curiosity, Taichi barely noticed the devious smile on Mimi's lips while they walked along the riverside. He almost forgot the "lesson" he planned to teach her.

They walked around the riverbank in silence, simply trying to "enjoy" each other's company. They barely even knew what to talk about since their minds were so immersed in their own plans for each other.

"So tell me, Tai, what are your hobbies?" Mimi asked as a way to break the ice. _'I guess we should have a little civil conversation before I carry out my plan.'_

"I love playing soccer. In fact, I'm the co-captain of my school's team," Taichi boasted. "I also enjoy messing around with my friends and playing video games with them. We can't live without Guitar Hero and Left 4 Dead."

"Typical guy." Mimi smirked. "You should hang out with Sora. You guys would really get along."

"How about you, Mimi? What are you into?" the soccer player flirtatiously asked the beauty queen.

"Singing, dancing, and acting are my top three hobbies-slash-talents," she shared. "I also love baking and cooking with my sisters."

"Funny you should mention Sora…" Taichi devilishly grinned at the girl beside him. "I was just thinking about how pretty she is. Not to mention, that she's got an amazing body. What a shame she wasn't the one I saw naked in the shower." _'That should knock her off that pedestal she puts herself on,'_ he victoriously thought.

'_So you think Sora's hot, hmm?' _Mimi thought acidly. _'As much as I love the girl, this is the one time I'm going to actually have to prove that I can do better than she. I guess I'm going to have to win him over first!' _

Mimi tapped Taichi on the shoulder and giggled, "Tag! You're it!" She ran off toward the sakura trees. "Come and get me!" she shouted. _'Phase one is underway!' _she squealed to herself as she ran farther away from him.

"Oh man…" Taichi groaned. He started having this feeling of dread in his gut while he chased after her. "And I still don't know how I'm going to teach that lesson!"

After five minutes of running along the path, he found Mimi at a field of irises near the river. "Hey Tai!" she grinned at him. "Nice to know you found me pretty quickly!"

"The run wasn't that long," he replied. "What was that for?"

"Nothing," she replied a little too innocently for Taichi's liking. "I just thought I'd make things fun!"

While he winningly smiled at her, his stomach filled up with butterflies. That nagging feeling wouldn't go away. He felt like something was going to go wrong.

Mimi had the same feeling. She felt like one part of her plan was going to blow up in her face. Unlike Taichi, she didn't take any notice of it while she continued carrying out her plan. Despite the suspicious feeling, her plan was going perfectly.

"Come here, Tai. It's nice and warm here!" she patted the wide rock she sat on. "**_So baby, come on and get me!_**" she sang, pointing to him. _'Did I just call him "Baby"?! Oh dear Lord, NO!'_

Taichi looked at her doubtfully before he walked over to her. So far, he didn't have a plan in his head to knock her off her high horse. That comment about Sora just popped right into his head. It seemed natural that he tried to make her jealous of her sister, but other than that, he had absolutely no idea how to follow that up.

"You know what Tai?" Mimi said once he was sitting next to her. "I don't think Sora would like to hear those rude comments you made about her." She casually smoothed out her dress. "In fact, she'd say those words were so misogynistic."

"I was just being honest about what I see," Taichi replied, scooting over to Mimi. "Your sister's a pretty lady, and I can't help but admire her." Despite what he said this, his eyes betrayed him by discreetly looking at Mimi's long, creamy legs.

Unfortunately, the beauty queen caught him in the act, she pretended not to notice but she adjusted her seat, making her dress ride up higher than it was supposed to be.

"Anyway, what are you planning to take up in college after next year?" Taichi asked just to distract himself from staring at Mimi.

"I've always enjoyed cooking, so maybe I'll take up Culinary Arts or something related to that. But I'm still not giving up my dream of becoming the next Akiko Kojima or Riyo Mori. You?" she asked casually.

"I know I can't play soccer all my life. Maybe I'll take up something like law or business, just to shut my dad up," he answered. "But if I had a choice, I'd probably become a coach for Odaiba High."

"My goodness, you're such a good person, Tai," Mimi whispered huskily. "Doing something to make your father happy. Kari's told us a lot about you. She says you're the greatest brother ever. Even though you guys only see each other once a month." She leaned forward, making her cleavage plunge deeper.

"R-really?" was all the city boy could manage since he was concentrating on trying not to look at Mimi's chest.

Mimi suddenly ran off again and Taichi caught up with her. They kept at this game practically all day. Mimi would run off and Taichi would have to find her. Once he's found her, they'd ask each other a question and an answer. Afterwards, the process would repeat.

Mimi learned that Taichi has been playing soccer ever since he was three and that he found out about Hikari when he was five, since then the two half-siblings have been meeting up monthly. In turn she revealed that she also dreamed of becoming a star in Hollywood and that sometimes she wondered where her father was.

Mimi had just about enough of the preliminaries. The sun was almost setting and she hadn't carried out her plan yet. She ran away from him again, shouting "Catch me if you can!"

Taichi obliged, wondering what on Earth she was up to. While he was running, his foot slipped off one of the rocks and he got an impromptu bath.

"_Thank you, Tai…'_ Mimi nastily thought. _'You saved me from the hassle of having to shove you into the river! Time for the finishing touches to my plan… Hehe.' _Even with the devious thoughts flying through her mind, her expression read a different emotion.

"Oh my gosh!" she screamed. "Tai, are you okay?" she asked _worriedly_, inspecting his body for injuries. _'Lord, please don't let him be wounded. I hope he's just wet._ _I only want to humiliate him, not hurt him!'_

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied. "Don't worry about me." He gently brushed her off when he managed to stand up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, reaching for him. "You sure you don't have any wounds? Maybe you need CPR?" she panicked, gently examining the brunet's arms. _'Why am I _this_ worried about him? I'm not even acting… it just… came out.'_

"Mimi, I'm fine. Okay? No wounds, no bruises… Nothing. Thanks for the concern all the same," he reassured her, flashing her one of his goofy heart-stopping grins. _'She's not so bad after all. I guess this is what Kari meant about Mimi being really nice.' _He thought to himself. "HACHOO!" he sneezed.

"Oh no! We have to get you out of those clothes!" Mimi gasped. While she fussed over him, she was impishly grinning inside. "Who knows what you might catch!" she added for effect.

Taichi sneezed once more before he agreed with her. Mimi led him to a secluded spot where he could go take his clothes off to let them dry.

"How do I know you won't take off on me or something?" Taichi suspiciously asked while Mimi hung up his clothes.

"Then I'll stay with you," she cheerily answered as she got settled on a rock where she could still see him without him noticing that she was checking him out. _'Hmm… He's kind of hot once you get past his annoying side.'_

They talked some more about their siblings, school, and any random topics that came to mind. She had to win his trust before she could carry out the last part of the plan.

While Mimi laughed at Taichi's story about how he, his senior roommate Matt, and their friends Joe and Izzy got kicked out of one of their school ceremonies for playing indoor soccer in the auditorium in his freshman year, she figured she had enough of this and wanted to get to her favorite part of her well-designed scheme.

She took no notice of it, but she went over to Taichi's clothes, which were still hanging up to dry. Although they were already dry, she lied to him. "Tai, I'm afraid your clothes are still soaking wet."

While he was too aghast to actually react, Mimi secretly stuffed his clothes into her bag, snickering the whole time.

"We have to go home to dry them," she continued. "But in the meantime, wear this." She threw a single piece of clothing at him and ran off.

"Just meet me at the exit of the park!" She giggled before she totally disappeared from his line of vision. _'And then comes my favorite part! Everyone at home sees what I've done to him!'_

"MIMI!" he shouted upon seeing what article of clothing she tossed at him. To his horror, it was the kind of clothing he never ever wore.

He heard some rustling in the bushes. "Great. What a day this is." He grumbled to himself. "First, I get to know a fairy, she-devil. God! That girl is bipolar. Next, I get myself wet and I trust the bipolar girl with my clothes. Then, she leaves me here practically naked, except for this _dress_ she expects me to wear all the way back. THAT LITTLE DEVIL TRICKED ME!!! What else could go wrong today? A wild animal will eat me alive?" he shouted into the wilderness.

As though to answer his question, he heard some rustling in the bushes until a cute little girl with big brown eyes, ink-black hair and a button nose emerged. She took one look at Taichi and childishly giggled.

"You look really pretty, Mister!" she chirped at him.

"Thanks," he gruffly replied, struggling with all his might not to strangle the poor child. _'I may not have been eaten by a wild beast but _someone_ just had to see me in this! Could there be anyone else here?!'_

"Don't worry, nobody's here aside from you, me, and the pretty lady who just left you… I think," the little girl replied to his unspoken question. "By the way, my name is Sayuri Nitta. And the exit your fairy friend told you about is just nearby. You shouldn't miss it!"

"Thanks, kid. I mean Sayuri," Taichi sighed, as he made his way to the direction she pointed him to. "This is strictly between you and me! Don't tell anyone else about this!"

* * *

Sora was walking home from her afternoon tennis practice. She dragged her feet and kept her movements slow and forced. There was really no excitement for her at home. There were the visitors but they'd be gone soon enough and not only that, they were all being "entertained" by other people.

She really couldn't put the blame on other people for that. She had, after all, been asked to take T.K. around town, but she'd opted out. Instead she left that job to Kari. And Tai, well Mimi would be enjoying their "date" right about now. Something that Sora felt she'd be imposing on if she tagged along.

Besides they were all younger. She was tired of being the oldest.

There was never really any company and she usually settled for things her younger "sisters" wanted to do.

"Could life get any less eventful? Mr. Racket," she addressed the tennis racket in her hand, "answer me this, when is something good going to happened to me?

"I mean… not even tennis can keep me happy anymore. I can't believe Coach Matsumoto chose his niece to be the new team captain." She continued talking to her racket. "It's okay that I wasn't chosen, even though I really hoped for it. It would have been fine if a senior or even a junior was chosen to lead the team this coming season. But tell me, Mr. Racket, how can a freshman who doesn't even _know_ anyone from the team lead us this year?"

As she continued ranting, Sora's irritation and boredom were at their peaks that she did not pay attention to her surroundings. Her focus was only on what was in front of her that she didn't notice a blue Porsche when she walked up the path to her house, still talking to her tennis racket.

"Talking to your tennis racket is the first sign of madness, Miss." A deep musical voice caught Sora by surprise.

She gazed straight ahead and saw a young man dressed in black sitting on their front porch steps with a guitar propped up on his thigh. At first, she thought it was Takeru because of his golden blond hair and sapphire eyes, but the person on the porch looked a little older than the blond guest Hikari was entertaining.

"If this isn't the first time you've talked to that racket, you should really consider getting some help," he continued as he strummed his guitar.

Although she could understand the man's intention, Sora was not in the mood to joke around. All she longed to do was take a nice cold shower and then play her music at full blast while reading "_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_." She did have the house to herself. Keeping her attention elsewhere, Sora pretended not to hear him as she made her way to the house. _'Who is he? What's he doing here? For all I know he could be some creep planning to rob the house.'_ Her suspicions rose with every step she took, for the stranger had yet to comment on who he was or what he was doing there.

The next thing she knew, he was standing and attempting to see if there was anyone inside the house.

_Sora gasped. 'Oh no, he didn't. He's not breaking into the house… Not on my watch,' _she vowed, looking at her tennis racket. With that thought in mind, Sora was determined to save her home from potential robbery. She pulled on an "I'm-not-scared-of-you" face as she tightened her grip on her tennis racket and attempted to approach the guy as quietly as possible. When she was directly behind him, she silently put her bag on the porch, and raised the tennis racket in the air.

"Hey you!" she called out to the man attempting to peep into their house. The moment he turned to face her, she hit his head as though she was hitting a tennis ball.

"Ouch!" the guy shouted, protecting his head from the ruby-eyed girl's next attack. "What was that for?"

"Don't even think about it," Sora threatened, ready to hit him again. "'Cause I'm warning you, one wrong move, and this racket meets your head again."

"Look, Miss, I have no ill intentions. I just have a few questions to ask you." The guy attempted to protect his face, hair, and his guitar from the irate redhead who looked ready to murder him.

"It's _my_ house, so _I_ do the asking," Sora growled menacingly as she struck him with the racket repeatedly. '_God, I really need to find something to do. I'm having way too much fun scaring this guy…' _

"Sure, Sugar. Whatever you say," he groaned as she constantly assaulted him. "Oh no! Not the hair!" he added when her racket came into contact with his perfectly gelled golden tresses.

"First of all, I am _not_ your 'Sugar!'" she screamed, attacking him even harder than ever. "And second, who are you and what are you doing looking into our house?" she demanded, wielding the racket like a light saber between hits.

"I'm Yamato Ishida._ OUCH!_ I'm looking for my landlady Miss Fumika Sakurano, and I was told that she's staying at the Yagami residence. _Will you give me a rest?_ I asked people for directions and those directions brought me here. _OUCH!_ I was looking in the window for anyone whom I could ask. _OW!_ And then you came and hit me with that tennis racket. That hurts!" he answered, still using his arms as a shield from her racket.

"Ever heard of the doorbell? How do I know you're telling the truth?" she snarled, not showing any of the panic she felt inside. '_Oh shit. If he's telling the truth, that means I hit one of Aunt Fumie's boarders… Nooooo!'_

"My brother happens to be with my landlady._ OUCH!_ Takeru Takaishi, have you heard of him? _Stop it_!"

"Yeah, he's here. How can he be your brother?" she asked, trying hard to maintain her threatening image. "He's Takaishi, you're Ishida… How's that possible?"

"Our parents are divorced, that's how. As for proof you're asking for, here." Yamato winced while he took from his wallet his boarding house key and a picture of a group of boys surrounding Aunt Fumika, Taichi, Takeru, and himself among them, and showed it to her. "All your questions answered, Inspector?" he added lightly, grinning at Sora's thunder-struck expression with her racket stuck in mid-strike.

"Okay, I believe you," Sora conceded when she dropped her racket. '_Oh man. I actually attacked one of Aunt Fumie's boarders. I don't know if I should be relieved because he's not a criminal or disappointed because the action is over. All I know is both Auntie Yuuko and Auntie Fumie will have my head when they find out about this!'_

Sora picked up her racket and bag, let them both in the house, and led the way to the living room. She let him rest on the couch while she got them both something to eat and drink from the kitchen. Thankfully, there was still some of the Oreo cheesecake Mimi had baked three days ago. She took two slices to the living room, along with a pitcher of iced chocolate and an ice pack.

She spotted him lying down on the couch, his eyes half-closed. She set down the tray of food on the coffee table and sat on the small space beside him with the ice bag in her hand.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about the… uh… _incident_ earlier," she whispered as she leaned toward him to inspect the damage. She saw a huge red bump on his forehead along with a few scratches and bruises on his lower arms, the part of his arms that he used to save himself from her attacks. "It – it's just that I thought you were some creep trying to break in."

The blond on the couch said nothing but opened his eyes and sat up to look at the girl beside him. It seemed impossible that the gentle motherly girl sitting with him was the same Amazon who attacked him outside the house minutes ago.

"Here," she offered the ice pack, "I'll kiss it to make it feel better."

Before she'd even thought about her action, her lips were resting against his forehead and he'd gone completely stiff. She quickly moved away from him, grabbed her book from the coffee table, and sat down on the easy chair. All the while he simply stared at her with wide eyes before deciding to take a short nap.

'_Great,'_ Sora groaned inwardly. _'Now he must think I'm really weird. First I attack him, and then I kiss him. What in the world is wrong with me? Maybe he's right. Maybe I _do_ need mental help.'_

After at least an hour of her reading and him napping, a cell phone rang.

_**I'm a boy, I'm a child at heart  
Insecure to the world from the start  
I'm a boy, I act like I know it all  
But the truth, I'm scared of it all**_

Yamato groaned, struggling to fish for his cell phone from his pocket. "Hello?" he greeted once he found it. "Yeah, Teeks, I found the place. … Well, a redhead let me in. … No, not right away. I had to explain what I was doing here before she even let me in... Tell you the whole thing later, bro. Bye!"

He shut his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He looked over at the ruby-eyed beauty reading on the easy chair beside him.

She felt him staring at her. So she raised her head and asked, "Am I boring you?"

"Nah. Not really." He smiled. "I was just expecting to meet up with Tai and T.K. here, but I guess I came too early."

"If that's the case, then you're also our guest here," Sora said. "Meaning I have to entertain you since there's a festival here… I just have no idea what to say to you!"

"You could start by telling me a little about yourself." Yamato grinned. "Then we can work on what to talk about from there."

"Me?" the amazed girl asked. "Believe me when I say that I'm the boring one in the family."

"Come on, I don't think anyone is boring. Go on, tell me," he encouraged, discreetly examining the tennis player.

"Okay, if you insist," she said as a form of introduction to her ramble. "My name is Sora Takenouchi and I'm seventeen years old. I'm an incoming high school senior at Mameha Suzaku High School, which is in town. I'm among the top three students in my year, along with being a member of the tennis team. I enjoy reading, playing tennis, listening to music, and designing clothes. By the way, I am also the oldest among three sisters, but none of us are blood-related. Kari, the youngest one, is the only biological daughter of Yuuko Yagami, Auntie Fumika's younger sister. As for Mimi, the middle child, and I, Auntie Yuuko adopted us after our parents died."

The short time Sora talked, Yamato smiled at each fact she shared. He found this girl fascinating, aside from being rather pretty. What a shame that she was only in high school…

"Woah," he finally reacted, taking a sip from his iced chocolate.

"Well… were you entertained?" she asked meekly.

"Yeah, that was pretty good to hear," Yamato admitted, grinning at her.

"Well, that's the only entertaining thing I can share with you," Sora confessed grudgingly. "The fact that Mimi and I are adopted and Kari is illegitimate, well that's the 'hottest' gossip the townsfolk can't stop talking about. I'm surprised you didn't encounter any gossip when you asked for directions on your way here. Other than that, I have no idea what to talk to you about."

"Hmm… we could talk about…" Yamato looked around his surroundings until something caught his eye. "that book you're reading. You said you love to read, right?"

"Y- you mean this?" Sora squeaked as she held up her "_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_" book. "You also read? You've read this too?" she asked, eagerly leaning toward him with her eyes aglow.

"Of course I read. And yes, I've read that book." He laughed upon taking the book from her hands. Yamato scanned the pages, looking for a way to start the conversation.

Before he could even comment on the book, his cell phone blared to life with a different song from earlier.

_**The world could die  
And everything may lie  
Still you shouldn't cry  
'cause time may pass  
But longer than it'll last  
I'll be by your side  
**_

Yamato just looked at it and shut it off, frowning. He pocketed the phone once again and sighed.

"Sorry, Sora," he apologized. "I should have silenced my phone."

"No, it's alright," she assured him. "Do you mind if I ask who it was that you ignored?" she tilted her head toward his pocket when she asked.

The blond looked at her and sighed, "That was my girlfriend back in Hokkaido. She's getting impatient; she thinks Tai and T.K. are taking forever here."

"Girlfriend?" _'Aww… Too bad.' _Sora's face fell at those words. "Is she pretty?" Her face suddenly lit up with curiosity.

"For me, she is." He grinned dreamily.

"Well, what year is she in?" she asked as she moved to sit next to him.

"She's a college sophomore, majoring in Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University. In the Philippines," he replied, adding the last part when he noticed Sora's confused expression. "She's in Japan for her Japanese Studies paper. She has to live in Japan for half a year and write what it's like. I think she just used that paper as an excuse to come back here."

"Sounds like it." Sora grinned. "Wait a minute… _University?!_ She must be kind of old." Sora smirked smugly.

"For me, not really," Yamato defended his girlfriend. "After all, she is my age."

"Wait… hold up, you're _old_?" she shouted, staring and pointing at the blond.

"Don't call me old! I'm only three years older than you are!" Yamato protested. "I'm a college sophomore at the University of Tokyo, majoring in Aeronautics and Astronautics. But I'm also a teacher's assistant and substitute teacher at Odaiba High School," he informed.

"You… you got into Todai?!" she cried as her face fell. "Wow… But you look as if you're only a high school senior!" she added, openly staring at him.

"I get that reaction a lot," Yamato said amusedly, grinning at his shell-shocked hostess. "But please, enough of that. Can we talk about something else?"

"We're home!" Hikari announced when she and Takeru entered the house.

"Kari! T.K.! You're back!" Sora shrieked. "Kar, this is Yamato Ishida," she introduced, "he's –"

She was cut off by Takeru at this point. "I'll take it up from here, Sora. Kari, what Sora was about to say was that Yamato is my brother."

"Uhm… It's a pleasure to meet you, Yamato," the youngest girl shyly replied.

"Likewise," he charmingly replied. "You can just call me Matt."

They all got comfortable on the couch once more, deciding on what they could all talk about when Sora broke the silence.

"You know what Yamato, you never got to tell me your opinion on the book."

"You know what, you're right, Sora," the older blond agreed. "And please, call me Matt. The only people who call me Yamato are my professors or our parents when they're angry." He grinned.

"Oh no, Sora…" Takeru groaned. "Please, do us all a favor and _don't_ get him started on any form of literature! He could go on forever!"

"Sora is pretty much the same, T.K. Once you get her started on either books, music, or sports; there's no stopping her!" Hikari informed.

"Ugh. Matt's found his match in her. Except, change sports into anything to do with outer space," Takeru snorted. "Do you like music, Kari?" he asked, once he saw the two older teens engaged in deep thought.

"Yeah. After all, Mom even taught all three of us learn to play the piano and sing," Hikari shared.

"Wow. Can you play for me some time?" Takeru asked.

"Uh…" Hikari hesitated and blushed, trying to find a way to answer him.

"Did you know that my brother's in a band?" he asked, since he noticed she struggled to reply.

"Really?" Hikari and Sora, who got out of her stupor, exclaimed.

"Yeah," Yamato confessed. "We're called 'The Wolves' and we've been around since we were in Middle School."

Luckily for the younger teens, that was the perfect segue for music to be their topic of conversation. Pretty soon, Yuuko and Fumika came home from their sisterly bonding trip. Yuuko found Yamato to be a well-mannered person, albeit rather moody. Although all of them asked how he acquired his wounds, bruises, and the bump on his forehead, much to Sora's relief, he remained mum about it.

"I figured you wanted to keep it our little secret," he whispered to the surprised tennis player when she asked him about it.

This went unnoticed by everyone else, since Takeru kept them distracted by telling Yuuko and Fumika about how he and Hikari had fun touring the place.

"Yeah, Hikari showed me the most beautiful places in town. May I say that the Hofileña Lighthouse is one of the most beautiful places in Japan? Turns out Kari's right, it really has the most breathtaking view of the village," he complimented.

"You really think so?" Hikari asked with bright eyes.

"Yeah. Although your daughter is a bit shy," Takeru addressed Yuuko, "she's still fun to be around. Anyway, it's our first time. It'll probably be longer once we get to know each other more." Hikari blushed at his comment.

"That's good to hear," Fumika added and winked at Yuuko. "By the way, where are Mimi and Tai?" she asked, looking around.

As though to answer her question, Mimi burst in the front door, running at top speed and giggling at the same time.

"Hi!" Mimi chirped before she rushed past them all to get to the balcony.

"Why's she so happy?" Yuuko and Fumika wondered.

Everyone was curious at what the honey-haired girl was excited about, so they all followed her trail to the balcony. At this point, she was practically dying of laughing.

"What's funny, Mimi?" Yuuko asked, vainly trying to catch the girl's attention.

"Where's Tai?" Takeru and Yamato suspiciously questioned the two remaining girls, who shrugged at them.

"Oh my goodness! Tai, you're so beautiful! You're even prettier than I am!" Mimi squealed before dissolving into another round of laughter.

"What?" everyone else asked, running to see what Mimi was squealing at.

By the time they all got a really good look at Taichi, they took in the sight of him wearing a frilly, spaghetti-strapped, cherry mini-dress and a scowl that would have daunted even the toughest sailors alive.

"Dude, what happened to you?!" Yamato exclaimed, pointing at his best friend while trying to keep his laughter in. However, the corners of his mouth twitched, betraying that he too found the situation funny, despite his concern.

The same couldn't be said for Takeru and Hikari, despite that they were worried about him too. Hikari managed to get a few snapshots of her brother before she joined Takeru, who was rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.

Still giggling, Sora made her way to Mimi. She gave her sister a high five. "You did well, Mimi!" she congratulated.

"Aww! Thanks Sora!" Mimi said, and they both collapsed into another fit of giggles. Mimi stopped to look at Taichi. She blew a kiss to him, winked, and went back to laughing.

Although Yuuko and Fumika found Taichi's appearance funny, they managed to hold their smiles in better than Yamato, who had given in to his urge to laugh and joke about telling this to the entire boarding house. The older women agreed that Mimi's little stunt was out of line, and they decided to talk to her about it later.

As for Taichi, he couldn't do anything but glare at the cruel girl who got him into this situation. While he could do nothing now, he swore that someday, Mimi Tachikawa was going to regret the day she ever crossed him.

* * *

**So that's it for now. This chapter was also a way of plugging some Filipino artists. Songs used in this chapter were: **

**Get Me by M.Y.M.P.**

**Boy by Urbandub**

**and **

**214 by Rivermaya**

**Listen to these artists! They are some of the best in the country! Expect more Filipino music to come in this fic. ;) **

**I forgot, I also don't own the little girl Tai met. Her name was inspired by Memoirs of a Geisha. **

**As always, please click that pretty little green button. Reviews mean so much to me! **


	6. I Love You, Goodbye

**Here is the fifth installment of UnderAGE. I hope that this ISN'T the last chapter I can post before school starts on June 15. I'll do everything in my power to finish the next chapter by then. **

**By the way, please give a nice round of applause to my ever-wonderful beta PrincessJaded! **

**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Digimon and UnderAGE. They are the property of Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively. I also DON'T own the song used in this chapter. **

* * *

Fumika Sakurano was not a happy woman that evening and this was all because of the stunt her niece pulled on their guests. After she escorted a livid Taichi, along with the laughing brothers into the guest room, she knew what she had to do. First, she looked for her sister who seemed to understand what her actions were going to be. They arrived at their destination. Yuuko was about to knock on the door, but then Fumika beat her to it by practically beating on the door.

"Come in!" a feminine voice called out.

Yuuko and Fumika entered Mimi's bedroom. One look at her aunt's face and Mimi knew that this conversation was not going to be pretty at all.

"Do you think what you did was funny, Mimi?" Fumika practically snarled, looking directly at her niece who looked like she had a reply ready.

"Wait, don't answer that. _No_. Do you have any idea that what you did was rude? You didn't respect Tai, and to think he's supposed to be our guest. Above all that, you didn't respect Kari and me. I'm your aunt and Kari is practically your sister. In case you forgot, I was the one who brought those guys here, aside from Tai being Kari's half-brother!"

"Aunt Fumie," Mimi appealed, "I didn't think other people were going to see him. I was getting even for what he did to me!"

Fumika looked at Yuuko and sighed before continuing. "Yuuko, I'm aware you disciplined these girls differently. Although I disagree with some of your methods, I still respect them. But then, _when it comes to the point where they hurt someone_, I guess I have to interfere. I hope you understand."

"Fumie, I understand what you're saying," Yuuko began gently. "And I'm sure Mimi understands that too!" She hardened her voice upon looking at the guilty party. Mimi made an anguished face that did not escape her notice. "Honey, in this case, I can't take your side. After all, what you did was wrong. You should listen to your Aunt Fumika."

Mimi was at a loss for words. For the first time all day, she finally found out which part of the plan would blow up in her face. No, it wasn't the fact that a little kid saw Taichi… But it was the fact that she actually felt guilty for what she did to him.

* * *

Yamato and Takeru had just finished bribing Hikari to give them copies of Taichi dressed in drag. It was rather difficult convincing the photographer to give them copies. This was her brother they were talking about. Even if she found the situation funny, she was still loyal to him. The brothers only managed to talk her into printing and giving them copies by threatening to tell Aunt Fumika that she actually took those pictures.

Celebrating their success, they received the shock of their lives when they saw Mimi running out of their room, trying to hide her tears from them but failing horribly.

"Uh… is it safe to ask what happened?" Yamato asked uncomfortably, letting Takeru and himself in.

"The little diva tried _apologizing_." Taichi scoffed. "But I know better…"

"What exactly happened?" Takeru prodded nosily while he continued packing his things into his duffel bag.

"Here's what happened…" Taichi narrated.

* * *

_After the blond brothers left him to get changed, Taichi immediately got changed so that he could seek out his sister to delete those embarrassing pictures. After a while, he heard a knock on the door. _

"_Come in," he shouted, thinking it was Kari, since those blonds didn't even bother to knock. _

_It wasn't Kari who entered the door, but a repentant looking Mimi. _

"_Tai?" she peeped. "C – can I say something?" _

_He took no notice of her, but she continued anyway. _

"_I didn't mean for anyone to see you back there in the river. Usually, no one's there at this time. Besides, I was only getting even for what you did and said to me last night. Now, I feel so stupid and guilty." _

"_Cut to the chase, woman. You're boring me," he snapped coldly at the quivering girl. _

"_Alright then! What I wanted to say is 'I'm sorry!'" Mimi apologized as she attempted to hide the fact that she was about to cry. _

_Taichi said nothing at first. He simply gave her the coldest look he could muster. He realized that she was still waiting for a response. _

"_Just do me a favor and SHUT UP!" he roared. _

"_I'm already apologizing and you're still so grumpy?!" Mimi shouted. "I hate you!" _

_At this point, her tears really couldn't stop themselves from flowing. She ran out of the room as quickly as she could so that Taichi wouldn't know that he actually managed to make her cry. _

* * *

"Well, that's what happened," he finished. "Here, little man," Taichi added, handing Takeru the thousand yen bill.

"Sorry, Tai," Takeru whispered, not taking the money.

"It's okay, man," Yamato consoled his best friend. His younger brother briefed him on the bet while the brunet was getting changed.

"No, it's better this way," Taichi continued. "If I won, it meant that I would have been forced to spend more time with her. Just being sport."

"Question is, why would she cry?" the older blond wondered.

"Probably just an act to make me feel bad and everything," Taichi snorted. After that little stunt Mimi pulled on him, he could believe anything negative about her. He couldn't believe that he was actually attracted to her at all. In his book, Mimi could make Catherine a saint.

Takeru had a different opinion of the girl. Based on Hikari's stories, Mimi would _never_ cry, unless she was really upset. Besides, the beauty queen treated him decently, so he had nothing personal against her. He just didn't like her much because of how she regarded Taichi, so he was still willing to give her a chance.

* * *

Come twilight, the boys decided that it was high time they left for Hokkaido Island. Yuuko and Fumika gave the boys enough rice balls to last them the whole summer. But then, both women knew that Taichi's stomach was like a bottomless pit and the sisters' rice ball recipe was a favorite in Fumika's boarding house, so it was pretty likely that those rice balls would be gone by the time the boys got to Hokkaido.

"Boys, I'm really sorry for everything that happened," Yuuko apologized.

"No, it's cool, Auntie," Taichi reassured the woman he considered his other mother.

"Thanks as well," Takeru and Yamato chimed before they all bowed to their hosts.

"By the way, Tai and Matt," Fumika added as a last minute reminder, "don't be reckless drivers and race each other in the dark no matter how fun it is. The roads are dangerous! And Matt, you have T.K. with you!"

"How could you say such things, Aunt Fumie?" Taichi gasped, pretending that he had never been more offended in his lifetime. "We haven't raced our cars in the dark? Have we, Matt?"

"But great idea though! Thanks, Aunt Fumika!" Yamato snickered. "But since I have a passenger, I'm afraid we'll have to practice our racing skills next time, Tai." He exchanged fake anguished looks with his best friend.

Fumika slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Sometimes I wonder how old you really are, Matt. Your birth certificate says that you're already twenty years old; however, you act like you're only sixteen or seventeen…"

"What can I say? I know how to have fun! I'm still young at heart!" the older blond defended. "Well, we better get going," he continued, getting into the Porsche. He stuck his head out the window to say, "Good bye, Sora. I hope to see you around." His cerulean eyes met her crimson ones before they both grinned at each other.

"See you next month, Auntie Yuuko," Taichi reminded when he embraced the older woman goodbye. "See you too, monster," he teased before giving his younger sister a huge bear hug. "Behave yourself," he shouted once he entered his Volvo.

"By the way, Aunt Fumika?" Takeru addressed his landlady. "See you when classes start!" the blond brothers chimed.

"I'll take that as a promise that you're not moving to another boarding house, boys," Fumika informed them. "I'll expect that, Matt and T.K."

"Of course!" Yamato assured her.

"We're loyal to you!" his brother added, opening the passenger's door.

"Bye, boys!" Fumika and Yuuko waved.

"See you, Kari!" Takeru waved to the cute photographer before finally entering the car. "Take care of yourself!"

"Yeah, you too. Hope you have a safe trip, T.K.," Hikari replied sweetly while she waved at him.

Sora smirked at the exchanged and nudged her sister in the ribs. "There's a new love team in the making…" she whispered.

The brunette glared at the older girl before she hissed, "Shut up, Sora!" Despite the hiss, she still had that sweet smile on her face.

Sora obliged, but the mischievous smirk was still present. The girls made their way back into the house. They left their mother and their aunt to see the boys out.

* * *

Rather than say "adieu" to the guy who made her day horrible, Mimi decided to lock herself in her room and cry. One of the rare times that she was actually sincere in her apology and Taichi just had to be a stubborn grouch about it all. She now officially hated him. She no longer cared that he was Hikari's flesh and blood, but she loathed him with her whole heart and soul. These thoughts were the ones running in her mind when Sora and Hikari entered the room.

"Has that pain in the butt left yet?" She got up from her sitting position on the bed and headed for the bathroom.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "They already left."

"I hate him!" Mimi screamed once she was done washing her face. "I really, really hate him!"

"Don't worry, Mi. I'm sure he hates you too…" the auburn haired girl let the sarcasm leak from her voice.

"How about 'I think he hates you more'?" the youngest girl quipped. "That would have been more appropriate."

Mimi glared ominously at them. Sora and Hikari were immune to her death glares so they went on unfazed.

"Why did you pull that trick of all things to get even?" Hikari asked as calmly as she could but then her voice got higher and louder with every word she spoke. "It was over the line. Besides, it wasn't proportionate to his offence to you."

"Oh, so you're taking his side now?" the offended girl screamed. "Go ahead! I knew you would. After all, he is your brother…" she muttered bitterly.

Hikari looked ready to lash back, but Sora held her back. "Girls, are we still going to quarrel?" she asked, preparing herself to get into referee mode once again.

If the usually mild-mannered Hikari was at the point of screaming, that was already trouble alone. But if she was against an extremely livid Mimi, Sora knew she had to act before one of them decided to get violent.

For the second time in two days, Mimi and Hikari shut up when Sora got in "Oldest Sister Mode."

"Kar," she began, "I'm aware that Tai's your flesh and blood; you pity him. But give Mimi some credit? At least she didn't leave him naked in the river. She also apologized to him, and meant it. Wait… did you mean it, Mi?"

Mimi looked at Sora in the eye and nodded slowly.

Though she said nothing, Hikari's stare was no longer the stony look she had earlier. It melted into an understanding one.

"Don't you get it, Meems?" Sora continued patiently. "You also hurt Kari and Auntie Yuuko. You discomfited both of them because of that stunt you played. Have you apologized to them yet?"

Mimi was speechless again when she looked at her sisters with apologetic eyes. "Kari, I'm – " she began, but the youngest girl cut her off.

"Don't bother, Mi," Hikari gently whispered. "Come here!" She reached out to Mimi and gave her an enormous hug.

"How about Auntie?" Sora interrupted. "Have you apologized to her yet?"

* * *

After seeing their guests off, Yuuko and Fumika went to the garden to go stargazing like they did when they were younger. They just enjoyed each other's company in silence until Yuuko decided to break the silence.

"Sister," she whispered, still looking up the sky. "What do you think would happen to the girls when I'm gone?"

Fumika looked at her younger sister and sighed. "They would need a huge _GOOD LUCK_ if ever that happened. No offense, dear, although they have good hearts, they act like the kind of people only their mothers can love."

Yuuko's head suddenly snapped to her sister. "Don't you love them?" she asked.

Fumika sighed once more. "Of course I love those girls. But that's the problem…" she trailed off for a moment. "I love them too much that it hurts. Even though I took care of them, even though I love them; I feel like they don't love me." Yuuko made a face at this, but Fumika raised a hand indicating that she wasn't done yet. "It's like, you're the only one they see; you're the only one they love. Like, they don't have room to love anyone else…"

The younger sister's eyes filled with tears at her sister's revelation. "I'm sorry, Fumie…" she managed to choke out gently. "I'm sorry if I raised them that way. I just feel like the world is against me… Mom, Dad… everyone. That's why I raised them to depend on just each other. Kind of like 'you and me against the world.' But I know that they love you too…"

At this, Fumika could do nothing but reassure her younger sister. "It's okay. You're girls are still young. They can still learn… they can still change. You still have time to teach them to be a little more humble. Although you may need the most time with Mimi compared to Sora and Hikari…" she mumbled the last part as an attempt to make her sister laugh. "Or maybe teach them to be… uh… to be like you."

Yuuko's tears suddenly flowed out of nowhere as she confessed the secret she had been keeping for a couple of years. "I may… I may not have much time to do that any more."

At this point, Sora, Mimi and Hikari finally found their mother and aunt. Mimi was about to make their presence known but Sora gently held her back, since it looked like the woman they knew as their mother was about to confess something that was supposed to be for Aunt Fumika's ears alone.

Neither of the women noticed their presence. Fumika was confused. Yuuko was acting like she was about to die or something like that. Her sister's life practically revolved around her daughters, so how could Yuuko not have time?

As though to answer her silent question, Yuuko stood up and continued her confession. "Sister, it's because… I inherited grandma's breast cancer… Stage IV."

Fumika's coffee brown eyes widened with terror. She was rooted to her spot on the grass while her tears also flowed. She snapped out of her frozen condition to tell her sister that it wasn't funny. "What did you say? Breast cancer? Stage IV?" she whispered. "Yuuko… if this is a joke, please stop it… It's not funny." She knew that she was just hoping for the impossible.

"Terminal. My days have been numbered. I'm about to die," Yuuko finally managed to say. "But I'm not scared of death."

"Yuuko! Please!" Fumika sobbed, poking her crying sister's arm. "Drop the joke! It's not funny."

"Sister, I just worry about my daughters," Yuuko sobbed. "How they'll cope once I'm gone…"

From the sidelines, Sora attempted to be strong for the younger girls. She held Hikari in her arms, while Mimi gripped on to Sora's arm like it was a lifeline. While Mimi's and Hikari's tears flowed, Sora stopped her own since she knew her sisters needed her now more than ever.

"Yuuko, please…" Fumika begged weakly. She finally let her tears flow freely when she locked her sister in an embrace.

Hikari finally decided to let their presence be known. She gently broke free from Sora's grip and wiped her tears before she stepped out from behind the trees. Sora and Mimi gripped each other as they slowly followed.

"Mom?" Hikari shakily asked, catching their attention.

"Is all of that true?" Mimi added once she and Sora caught up.

Yuuko said nothing but she faced them with her eyes filled with tears. She couldn't look at any of her daughters. Words had failed to express all of her grief, her regrets, and of course how much she loved them.

'_No…_' was the only thought that rang out in all three minds. Their anguished faces and terror-struck eyes said it all. Hikari and Mimi resumed their crying while Sora finally let herself cry with them.

* * *

It was March when Yuuko revealed her secret disease. Two weeks had passed since then, and in the span of those weeks, she grew weaker and weaker everyday. Yuuko could no longer do anything, so Sora, Mimi and Hikari took over the housework. When they had nothing else to do, they stayed by their mother's side. Yuuko often requested them to play the piano for her, since she loved music so much. She had said that she wanted her daughters' voices and the piano to be the last things she'd ever hear before she died.

Although Yuuko was too weak to move, the girls knew what she wanted based on the direction her eyes went. When she looked at the door, she was hungry or thirsty. If she had her eyes on the window, then she wanted one of them to talk to her. And if she wanted one of them to play the piano she'd stare them straight in the eye.

None of the girls could take it anymore. They couldn't sing another note without sobbing. Fumika noticed this, so she sent them to the temple to pray for their mother.

Realizing that she was alone with Fumika, Yuuko took this as the time to give Fumika her "last will and testament."

"Fumika?" she coughed while she attempted to sit up. "There are some things you need to know."

"Some more confessions?" Fumika teased as an attempt to get her sister to smile.

"Yes. Think of this as my last will and testament," she replied weakly. She reached over to her desk and got a legal sized manila envelope.

"First of all, the house's and the fish pen's papers have already been settled. They have been mortgaged to the bank. The contracts are in that envelope. I also have a few insurances, so that when I die, all my debts would be settled."

"Yuuko? Do we really need to talk about this?" Fumika whispered. "Shouldn't we be worrying about which hospital to take you so that you'll get better? Or maybe extend your life?"

"It's going to be futile, Fumie," the younger sister sobbed. "My case is already beyond saving."

Fumika shook her head at her, but Yuuko continued anyway. "Fumie… the girls each have their own bank account, which I want them to use to finish their studies. I want them to finish their studies so that they can reach their dreams."

Fumika looked outside and saw that the girls were still at the temple. "Do you want me to call them back here?" she asked while she showed her cell phone, indicating that she was going to call one of them.

"No, Fumie. Not yet. I don't want them to know that they've got money. If they do, heaven knows that they could spend it all. Or worse, they'd stop going to school. They'd probably stop persevering to reach their dreams," the ill woman replied.

"I realized that you were right, Fumie. I haven't disciplined them well. By the way, I have a Special Power of Attorney. I'm leaving everything to you, especially my daughters. Please. Please make sure that no matter what happens, Susumu does _not_ get custody of Kari… Nor should anyone take my daughters away from you. I know you won't neglect them, because you've taken part in raising them. You'll be their new Mom/Auntie." She reached out and held her older sister's hand gently.

"I can't do it," Fumika sobbed gripping the hand that held hers. "I'm not like you. I can't promise to be as kind as you are… I can promise to take care of the girls, but I'm not using your methods."

"Well then… just do it as you see fit, Fumie," Yuuko replied tenderly. "I firmly believe that, as long as you have love in your heart, no matter what you do, it's enough."

"For you, Yuuko, I'll try my best," Fumika sobbed.

"Thank you!" Yuuko whispered as she wrapped her sister in a tight embrace.

* * *

While that happened at home, the girls ran as fast as they could to the temple, just so their mother wouldn't see them crying. They couldn't say a single word to each other. After they had offered their prayers at the altar, they went to the back of the temple to pray some more. Mimi and Hikari took a seat next to each other, while Sora chose a seat in front of them. Sora isolated herself from them because she didn't want her sisters to see her crying.

"Why?" Hikari whispered. "Why didn't Mom tell us?"

"You know how Auntie is…" Sora replied with her back to her sisters. "Everything is always okay with her. Even though her world is already falling apart."

"You know what?" Mimi tapped Sora at the back and motioned for all three of them to start walking home. They got their shoes and exited the temple.

"What?" Sora and Hikari asked once they were a few feet away from the temple grounds.

"I say we should stop crying and focus on how to make Auntie's last days here among the best days of her life," Mimi began. "Like, we should show her how much we love her. How much she means to us."

"Lucky for you, Mi, you've already done that. You were already able to give your speech at the pageant. You were already able to tell the world how great she is," Sora muttered tearfully. "What about me? Nothing!"

"I haven't done anything either," Hikari whispered. "We should take care of her."

"Right!" Mimi and Sora agreed before they continued their walk home.

With that plan in mind, Sora, Mimi, and Hikari did all they could to keep their mother happy. They treated her like a queen more than usual. Sora gave Yuuko several books to read; Mimi treated her to an extreme makeover, while Hikari even gave her a full-body massage. One day, under Mimi's command, they even made her breakfast in bed. They took it to her room along with a pink carnation in a vase.

* * *

One night, Yuuko felt that she didn't have much time left, so she called her daughters to her room. She wanted to give them something to remember her by.

First, she called Sora, who received a gold charm bracelet with ruby charms shaped into hearts.

"It was your mother's. Your father gave it to her when they got married," Yuuko explained once she put the bracelet on Sora. "The charms are supposed to mean 'love'. It has been with your father's family for a long time. Your mother wanted you to have it."

Mimi came in next. She received a silver necklace with a small emerald teardrop charm. Mimi recognized it as the necklace she wore for the pageant.

"I see you recognized the necklace," Yuuko humorously began while she helped Mimi put it on. "Like I said before, this was your mother's. According to your mother, the teardrop means 'purity.' You were supposed to receive this once you've turned eighteen, but… _Sigh_."

Hikari was the last to come in and her mother gave her a pair of rose quartz earrings shaped into some kind of odd star-like formation.

"Your grandmother gave this to me when she died. Actually, it was the only thing she left for me," she explained. "Did you know that she almost named me 'Hikari'?" The girl shook her head before her mother continued talking. "That's why she had these earrings made. I was supposed to be the 'light' of her life, but at the last minute, she decided to name me Yuuko. Now, they're yours, my light, my child…"

None of the girls understood how their mother managed to keep those jewels without selling them. One look at the necklace, bracelet, or earrings was all it took for the girls to see how much those would have cost. If they sold those, they would have made a fortune and settled all Yuuko's debts. However, since this was the only thing that their mother could give them, they all silently resolved to never ever sell those jewels, no matter how impoverished they will become.

* * *

It was a warm evening when Yuuko asked everyone to keep her company that night. Something told her that her time was up, and she wanted everyone she loved to be with her. She had even asked Mimi to play her favorite song on the piano, while everyone else sang along. Fumika held on to Yuuko's hand while she dying woman silently prayed.

_**When I think back  
On these times  
And the dreams  
We left behind  
I'll be glad 'cause  
I was blessed to get  
To have you in my life  
When I look back  
On these days  
I'll look and see your face  
You were right there for me**_

Fumika prayed with Yuuko as time passed. Yuuko had always been more than a sister to her. She was also the confidant, the motivator, and sometimes, her conscience. Despite Yuuko's previous sins, Fumika knew that her sister's ability to love transcends the crimes she's ever done. Now, she knew that this was her chance to repay the debt she owed her sister. She'd keep her promise to take care of Sora, Mimi, and Hikari no matter what it takes. She was also aware that she had to undo all of her sister's mistakes in raising the girls.

_**In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There will always be a place  
For you for all my life  
I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be**_

Sora was already thinking of how she could be able to take care of her sisters and study at the same time. Since she was the oldest child, she felt that she was now going to be responsible for her sisters. All she knew was to play tennis, design clothes, and clean the house; that really wasn't enough for to keep all three of them alive. Even though she had to give up on college just to keep Mimi and Hikari alive, she'd do it. She'd let the younger girls finish school and reach their dreams in exchange for her own.

_**Well you showed me  
How it feels  
To feel the sky  
Within my reach  
And I always  
Will remember all  
The strength you  
Gave to me  
Your love made me  
Make it through  
Oh, I owe so much to you  
You were right there for me**_

While she played and sang, Mimi panicked on the inside. With their mother gone, how were they going to finish school and afford college? Sora simply couldn't stop school; she was already graduating this school year and she's supposed to be off to the college of her dreams. Hikari was too young to work and there was no way Mimi would let her even try. Mimi figured that it was high time she put her cooking skills to good use, even though it would mean sacrificing her ambition to become the next Miss Universe.

_**In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There will always be a place  
For you for all my life  
I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be**_

Hikari held onto her mother as tightly as she could. She finally understood the meaning of death and it pained her more than it scared her. The light of her life was slowly fading right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do to let it shine again. Although Mimi and Sora would still be there for her, it just wasn't the same without her mother.

_**'Cause I always saw in you  
My light, my strength  
And I want to thank you  
Now for all the ways  
You were right there for me  
You were right there for me  
For always**_

Mimi stopped playing for she sensed something was wrong. She stood beside Sora and Hikari who were frozen on their spots.

"Yuuko!" Fumika gasped. They saw that Yuuko's hand managed to slip out from Fumika's. They all understood what that meant. None of them had the strength to say what needed to be said. Before they knew it, Yuuko's eyes had shut forever.

"No," Hikari managed to choke out when her tears began to flow. She reached over and embraced her mother for the last time. Sora and Mimi were rooted to their spots as they cried and hugged each other for support. Fumika had collapsed onto her sister's body and begged her to come back. No matter how loudly they pleaded with her not to leave them, and regardless of the rivers of tears they shed, they all knew she wasn't coming back.

_**In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There will always be a place  
For you for all my life  
I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
There you'll be**_

* * *

If there were two things that Yuuko loved aside from her daughters, it would be flowers and the sea. If in life she had a house by the sea and a beautiful flower garden; in death she would be buried in the sea, near the Japanese pittosporum shrubs. To make this possible, her living relatives had her cremated and agreed to throw her ashes into the sea.

Right after they had thrown all Yuuko's ashes in the sea, Sora placed a small picture of Yuuko on the nearest piece of land and buried it slightly. This way, this wouldn't attract the thieves' attention. Mimi held on to the urn where the ashes used to be, while Hikari held the umbrella for them all.

Although the girls acted mature and confident, they were still weak and unprepared. Fumika saw this and knew that it was time that she told the girls of their new living arrangements.

"Girls, when I return to Odaiba, I'm taking the three of you with me." She saw the girls about to protest, but she quelled their protests by saying, "I promised your mother that I was going to take care of the three of you no matter what. I know you three would rather stay here, but your mother wanted me to take you to Odaiba. What I want to know is, if you agree with this plan."

Sora looked at her younger sisters and she was aware that whatever she said to their aunt would affect the rest of their lives forever. As much as they didn't want to leave the place they called home, they knew that Aunt Fumika loved them as much as their mother did. Besides, if they stayed with her in Odaiba, none of them would have to sacrifice their education to keep the others alive.

With all this in mind, Sora replied with a determined, "Thank you so much, Auntie. We'll go with you to Odaiba."

* * *

**Believe me when I say that this is only the beginning of the girls' adventures. The song used in this chapter was Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" Please click that pretty green button below. Reviews mean so much to us writers! So please, click it!**

**I did a little research on Japan's educational system. Because of this, I decided that I'm going to mix both the Japanese and Filipino systems in this one because I'm not familiar with the Japanese system at all... **


	7. Start of Something New

**This is the last chapter I'm posting before school starts. Ugh, unfortunately I now have six days of classes, thanks to NSTP (National Service Training Program). Yaaaaay. So updates will be waaaay slower than usual. :( **

**Once again, please give a round of applause my my ever-wonderful beta PrincessJaded!**

**I forgot to put this in earlier... As always I don't own Digimon or UnderAGE. They belong to Toei Animation and ABS-CBN respectively!**

* * *

It was a long trip from Suzaku Village to Odaiba. When they finally arrived in Odaiba, the girls were dead tired. When they got out of the car and practically fell on top of each other, which Fumika laughed at. Although they had all taken long trips to Odaiba before, she couldn't blame them for being physically, as well as emotionally drained.

"Well, girls, here we are," she said while they unloaded their bags from the cab. "Welcome to your new home."

The Chosen Children Boarding House was a condominium-like building. It had four floors that were divided into two wings, one for the girls, and another for the boys. There was also a basement parking lot, a music room, several study halls, a library, an infirmary, a swimming pool, a computer room, an entertainment room, a visitors' lounge, and a basketball court.

Sadly, the girls were still too tired to appreciate all that, so Fumika showed them to their new rooms. Unfortunately, each room could only accommodate two people. Mimi and Sora shared a room while Hikari was to be someone else's new roommate. It was a rule in the boarding house that only two people of the same gender would be roommates, so the girl was relieved that she wouldn't have to share a room with a boy.

The boarding house they now lived in was one of the most popular dormitories among the students of Odaiba and Fumika let her nieces know why it was that way.

"Now that you girls live here, you should know that the Chosen Children Boarding House has the Code of Sakurano to live by," Fumika began once they all got settled. "My rules here are simple. Follow them and you'll be fine." At this point, she handed to each of them a piece of blue paper with her boarding house rules written on it. Fumika read to them what was written on that paper.

_1. Always ask for my permission when you go out, whether school related or not._

_2. Observe the buddy system when you go out. I'm not comfortable with letting my boarders go out alone._

_3. Curfew for students in elementary to high school sophomore is ten. Juniors and older students' curfew is midnight. That's for the weekdays. On weekends or school events such as prom, curfew is two in the morning._

_4. If you're planning to not come home to the boarding house, let me know in advance._

_5. Everyone here has a job to do everyday._

_6. Smoking, gambling, drinking, and drugs are strictly prohibited inside the rooms. If you want to get wasted, do it in the garden. But I won't allow smoking and drugs in this boarding house; they could kill you._

_7. I absolutely will__ not__ tolerate fighting._

_8. Don't let anyone of the opposite gender enter your room if I do not authorize it. If you have group projects or something of the like, use the study halls. That's why we have them._

_9. If you have visitors, they are not allowed to enter the rooms. This is what we have the visitors' area is for._

_10. Never, ever, enter my room without my permission._

The girls exchanged looks. The rules were reasonable enough to follow. But they had yet to know what chores their aunt would require them to do.

"Your chores…" Fumika continued, "Sora, you were the one who cleaned the house for my guests and me, right?"

"Yes, Auntie," the redhead replied, wondering what her aunt would want her to do.

"I'm assigning you to clean the library and the music rooms. Is that okay with you?"

"No problem, Aunt Fumie!" Sora smiled. She couldn't complain, since she felt that she would be spending her free time in those two rooms anyway.

"Mimi, the meals you cooked back in the village were wonderful," Fumika said to the beauty queen. "I know you want to be a chef someday, so I suggest you practice here in the kitchen. You'll be in charge of cooking dinner."

"I can do that! I won't let you down, Auntie!" Mimi promised confidently.

"And you Kari… Since you prefer doing quiet things, you'll be one of our new laundry women. You'll be doing the laundry of the elementary and middle school girls here. Your fellow laundrywoman just happens to be your roommate, so don't worry about not being comfortable."

"Thanks, Aunt Fumie," Hikari whispered. "I'll do my best."

"Just make sure you're responsible enough to be able to do your jobs, girls," Fumika instructed. "And please, try to get along with my boarders."

"Yes, Auntie!" the three girls chorused.

Fumika looked at the clock in the room and realized that her boarders would be coming back in a couple of hours.

"Mimi, I'm going to need you in the kitchen at once! Sora and Kari! Help her out since you don't have anything to do yet!" Fumika commanded urgently, waving them out of the room. "My boarders are coming in two hours and we don't have any food prepared!"

"Uhm, what should I prepare?" the new chef asked her aunt as she was pushed out.

"If you can prepare rice balls, please do so!" the landlady panicked. "Ask the other cook, Chizuru, where the ingredients are, Mimi. Tell her you're her new partner."

When Fumika and the girls made their way to the stairs, they saw a skinny girl with long, stringy lavender hair and mahogany eyes underneath round eyeglasses come in the boarding house.

"Yolei! You're back!" Fumika greeted when she ran down the stairs to embrace the new arrival.

Mimi, Sora, and Hikari looked at the new girl curiously. They weren't sure whether they should introduce themselves or if their aunt would do it for them. After all, they didn't want to appear stuck-up to their new housemates, yet they didn't want to appear to forward either. Mimi solved their dilemma by walking over to the girl and introducing herself.

"Hi! My name is Mimi Tachikawa, but it's okay if you call me Meems or Mi." She flashed the younger girl a friendly smile. "These are my 'sisters' Sora Takenouchi and Hikari Yagami," she added, looking at the girls behind her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Miyako Inoue but I'd rather be called Yolei." Miyako said. "I don't want to seem too nosey, but may I ask a question? If you three are sisters, how come you have different surnames?" she inquired cautiously.

"I knew this question was coming!" Sora groaned jokingly. "It's because Mimi and I were adopted by Kari's mother."

"I see," Miyako whispered. "On to a lighter topic, what year are you girls in?"

"I'm going to be a senior this year; Mimi will be a junior while Kari is a freshman," Sora replied.

"Really?" Miyako grinned. "I'm a freshman too! I hope we get to be good friends, Kari. Is it okay if I call you that?"

"Yeah, I hope so too," the shy girl replied, "And yes, it's okay if you call me that."

While Sora familiarized herself with their new home and Mimi went off to work in the kitchen, Hikari decided to help Miyako bring in her luggage. The two girls instantly hit it off with each other. The talkative Miyako managed to get a few laughs from the quiet Hikari as she told stories about her hectic family life and her misadventures with her friends in school.

Miyako liked her new friend since the girl's shy and sweet demeanor was a breath of fresh air after having loud and mischievous guys for friends. Meanwhile, Hikari found the purple-haired girl to be a sort of combination between Mimi and Sora. Like Mimi, she talked a lot but knew when to listen, and Miyako's protectiveness over her friends would have rivaled Sora's.

"Where's your room by the way?" Miyako asked her companion who was still laughing at the last story she told.

Hikari had to take a deep breath to stop laughing. "I'm in B-308." She finally managed to reply calmly. "Which happens to be right here," she added, pointing to the door sign.

"I guess you're my new roommate!" Miyako cheered. "Thank heavens! My ex-roommate was so nasty! I say good riddance to her!"

"Thanks… I guess." Hikari giggled.

"As long as you're not a slob, you don't take more than an hour in the bathroom, and you're easy to wake up; we'll be fine."

"Not to worry, Miyako," Hikari guaranteed, "I'm an early riser anyway, and I only take thirty minutes to get ready for school."

"Please, call me Yolei," the purple haired girl requested. "Why don't I give you a tour of the place?" she added and she stuck out a hand to her new friend.

Hikari took her hand and giggled. "Shouldn't we put your stuff in before anything else? And Aunt Fumika already gave us a tour."

"It's just a few stuff anyway. I've left my stuff here ever since I was in elementary," Miyako assured her. "While Aunt Fumie may have given you the tour, but you have yet to see this house in Miyako Inoue style!"

They entered their room and Hikari saw Miyako's point. While Miyako's side of the room looked like she had lived here her whole life, Hikari's side was clearly brand new with a picture of Sora, Mimi, Yuuko and herself as proof that the space was hers.

They got that job over with pretty quickly. Since there wasn't any laundry to do, the two girls decided to help out with the rice ball preparation before assisting Aunt Fumika with the boarders' registration. Sora and Mimi took to Miyako well because of her warm heart and cheerful tongue. They all hoped that a lot, if not all of the boarders were as friendly as Miyako.

* * *

Taichi's summer was far too eventful for his liking, but he didn't want it to end. The only exciting thing to do in school was soccer. Another thing he was thankful for was that he'd never see Mimi Tachikawa ever again. As much as he wanted to visit his sister again, he didn't want to put up with the presence of that she-devil any more than necessary.

He knew that junior year was the beginning of hell. Think: geometry, college algebra, and chemistry. That is never a good combination, unless he was a freakishly smart guy. Unfortunately, he was only a guy with an average IQ, so no loving for Math and Science coming from him.

A loud honk coming from the car next to his snapped him out of his reverie. Taichi turned his head to the blue Porsche driven by his best friend.

"Matt! What did you do that for?" he snapped at the blond brothers who smirked at him.

"We're here, idiot," Yamato replied as he pointed to the white gate that led to the place they thought to be their second home.

"Oh… right," the brunet muttered while he scratched his head and blushed.

The gates opened to reveal a huffing and puffing Miyako. The two cars pulled into the driveway before they drove to the basement parking, while the girl closed the gates before she returned to the living room.

After parking their cars, Yamato, Taichi and Takeru took the elevator that brought them straight to the living room. They spotted Miyako and Fumika at the boarders' registration table.

"Hi, Auntie Fumika!" Takeru greeted. "We missed you!"

"Hi, boys!" The landlady got up from her seat to greet them.

"How have you been?" Yamato asked respectfully. He noticed that their landlady was dressed in white.

"Why are you dressed in white, Aunt Fumie?" Taichi asked loudly. "Did someone die?" he added jokingly.

"Tai! You tactless moron!" Miyako stood up just to smack the brunet on the head. "That's not something to joke about!"

"What? I was only kidding," Taichi whined while he rubbed the sore spot on his head. Yamato and Takeru looked at each other before they laughed at him.

"Unfortunately, someone actually died, Tai," Fumika sighed, breaking up the lighthearted mood. "My sister just died two weeks ago."

"No," was all the lone brunet could muster and everyone else was stunned into silence.

"Condolences, Auntie," Miyako finally managed to blurt out as they all reached out to embrace their landlady.

"So, what happens to your nieces now?" Takeru asked the question the three boys have been dying to ask. "How are they coping?"

Before Miyako or Fumika could give an answer to that, a voice Taichi never ever wanted to hear again called out, "Aunt Fumie! Should I bring you some rice balls, or are you coming here in the dining room?"

'_Please tell me I'm having a nightmare…_' Taichi begged desperately to the gods above. "Somebody deck me… Please… I need to be sure that I'm only dreaming," he said loud enough for only Yamato and Takeru to hear.

Yamato smirked before he obliged by giving his younger best friend a solid punch in the face. "You told us to deck you," he whispered when Taichi growled at him.

As if to confirm Taichi's fears, the reigning Miss Suzaku Village entered the living room, carrying a tray that had a plate of rice balls and three glasses of iced tea.

Suddenly, Taichi's world stopped. No, it wasn't in that cheesy way it happened in romance films. It was more like a pause before the villain started killing people in a horror movie. Along with having to show that he can be the next team captain, taking up geometry, chemistry, and advanced algebra, and trying to erase Catherine from his life, Mimi's presence was definitely the cherry on top of his junior year.

Meanwhile, Mimi wasn't that surprised to see Taichi, although she dreaded having to face him. She seriously hoped that they'd never ever cross paths again, but then the world was too small for both of them. Unlike Taichi, who looked as though someone had splashed a bucket of ice on him, Mimi opted to feign poise and confidence, so she smiled at everyone and acted like there was no tension in the air.

"Here are the rice balls, Auntie!" Mimi said while she set down the tray on the empty table.

For all Takeru knew, the tension between Mimi and Taichi was so intense that he could cut it with a knife. He felt that he had to do something since his brother obviously regarded the situation as his new form of entertainment. He sensed that things were going to get quite out of hand and he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. As a result of this, he silently edged out of the living room and ran for his life to his room.

* * *

Unfortunately, Takeru's run to his room wasn't a smooth ride. While he didn't trip over his feet, he had somehow collided into someone before he shut his eyes and sent them crashing to the floor. He opened his eyes and saw that he had landed on the brown-eyed beauty he thought of all summer.

Hikari couldn't believe this. She just came out of the bathroom to rejoin Miyako and Aunt Fumika in the living room when she ran into a speeding figure. Much to her dismay, the speeding figure just had to be a boy. She shut her eyes as though it would break her fall. Although shutting her eyes didn't help, she noticed that her head was on top of a hand. She finally opened her eyes and found herself looking directly into Takeru's sapphire blue orbs.

They finally saw what kind of position they were in. Takeru was literally on top of Hikari and their faces were only an inch apart. Hikari's arms were around Takeru's waist, while his left hand was the only thing preventing him from landing on her since his right hand was under her head.

"Sorry," Takeru whispered. "I didn't see where I was running."

"It's okay. Really," Hikari assured him. "Thanks for protecting my head though." She smiled weakly at him.

Before any one of the younger teens could move, they heard footsteps heading their way. As much as they prayed that those footsteps belonged to someone open-minded like Sora or Yamato, it was Taichi who appeared and saw them in that position.

"Takaishi! Get the hell off my sister!" Taichi's scarily loud voice rang in their ears. "_Now_! Before I make you," he growled menacingly.

Takeru got up on his feet as quickly as he could and then he helped Hikari stand up.

"If it were any other guy but you, I'd have strangled you to death right now," Taichi hissed ominously. "You're lucky we're in the boarding house. If I catch you trying anything funny with my sister one more time, you're a dead man, Takaishi."

"Tai, calm down," Takeru defended himself from Hikari's extremely overprotective brother. "I didn't do anything bad to her. We just ran into each other and fell on the floor."

"He's right, Tai," the only girl in the room agreed. "He even caught my head and stopped it from hitting the floor. No need to go all _overprotective-big-brother_ on me…"

"Yet." Taichi grumbled.

"Then why did it look like you guys were about to kiss?" a feminine voice asked from the top of the staircase nearby.

"_I DON'T KNOW, TAI! _" the younger teens shouted to the stairs at the same time. Takeru and Hikari looked at each other and laughed.

"Tai? Since when did I become a guy with bushy brown hair that could pass for a bird's nest?" Sora snapped jokingly while she climbed down the stairs to join them. "Goodness, you both need your eyes checked."

"Sorry, Sora!" Takeru and Hikari apologized.

"At least none of you got hurt. That's what's important," Taichi said, ignoring Sora's comment on his hair. "We better go back to the living room, guys. Before Aunt Fumika sends a search party for us… Even though it means putting up with that Mimi." With that, he led the way back to the living room where everybody else was.

Sora and the younger teens looked at each other then at the older brunet and sighed before they followed him. They knew that unless some miracle happened that Mimi and Taichi would get along someday, the boarding house was going to be in for a wild, colorful, and extremely intense year.

* * *

By the time Taichi, Takeru, Hikari, and Sora came back to the living room, the rice balls were almost gone and the iced tea had been finished. The four of them ran over to the rice ball plate as quickly as they could and ate with much gusto.

"Hi Sora, Kari," Yamato greeted the girls. "How have you been?"

"Hi, Matt. We've been better…" Sora replied. "How was Hokkaido?"

"Cold, as usual," he replied with an impish grin. "By the way, I found a book in my grandfather's library that you might find interesting."

Before anyone could say something, two guys entered the living room from the elevator.

One of them was tall, lanky, and had dark gray eyes under his rectangular eyeglasses. Oddly enough, he had slightly long blue hair. The other guy was short and scrawny with short dark red hair and coal black eyes.

"Joe! Izzy!" Taichi and Yamato shouted like five-year-olds before they ran over and exchanged man-hugs with the new guys.

"Can't – breathe," the red haired one muttered as he was stuck in a 'Taichi Yagami headlock'.

The blue haired guy was pretty much in the same position except that it was Yamato who was wrestling with him.

Taichi and Yamato released their hold on the two guys. Once they were free, the newcomers stood up and straightened themselves out. The red haired one went over to Miyako and wrapped her in a tight hug while the other guy did the same with Fumika after they each high-fived Takeru.

Sora, Mimi, and Hikari felt slightly out of place, so Mimi took it upon herself to ask for an introduction.

"Uh… I don't seem rude here or anything, but is it okay if someone gave us a little introduction?" she asked meekly.

"There the goes the 'princess' of Suzaku Village again…" Taichi snorted to Yamato. Unfortunately, Mimi picked this up so she stared him down. Taichi very childishly stuck out his tongue in response.

"Oh sorry, how rude of us," the red haired boy replied. "I'm Koushiro Izumi, but these fools call me Izzy." He looked at Yamato and Taichi when he said the word "fools." "By the way, I will be a junior this coming school year. I'm also the Vice President of the Computer Club."

"My name is Jyou Kido, but call me Joe. It's easier to say it that way. I'm the resident 'doctor' of the boarding house and I'm a high school senior."

"Nice meeting you, guys." Mimi acknowledged before she introduced herself and her sisters.

After the girls exchanged pleasantries with their new friends, Jyou and Koushiro agreed to help Sora and Mimi familiarize themselves with the school. They even promised to introduce the girls to some people in their classes.

All of a sudden, a new boarder came in from the front door. He was tall and thin, with curly white blond hair and blue-gray eyes. The expression on his face was that of someone who had just stepped in crap.

He came up to the group and asked snottily, "Is _this_ the Chosen Children Boarding House?"

"Yes, this is it," Fumika replied with a business-like tone.

"My name is Michael Washington. My family and I moved here from Sacramento, California." The boy explained. "I'm a new boarder here and I need to speak with the landlady immediately. May I know where she is?" he asked a little too bossily for everyone's liking.

"Actually, I am the landlady of this place," Fumika informed him. "I'm Fumika Sakurano. Welcome to the Chosen Children Boarding House, Mr. Washington."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sakurano. Please, call me Michael," He requested. "I must say that the stories I've heard about your beauty don't do you enough justice." The American smiled charmingly that the older woman blushed like a teenager.

"C – call me Aunt Fumika or Aunt Fumie…" the landlady stuttered. "Whichever suits you, of course."

"Eww!" Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Mimi muttered.

"That is so revolting…" Koushiro began.

"… a guy our age flirting with Auntie Fumika," Jyou finished for his best friend.

"Okay, I didn't need mental images! Excuse me while I mentally throw up." Miyako whispered to Hikari and they both cringed in disgust.

'_Wait until Davis and the others hear about this_,' Takeru thought to himself.

"Did I hear you say something?" Fumika shrewdly asked her nieces and boarders who tried keeping poker faces.

Before any of their poker faces could fail them, Mimi saved them all. "Uh… we just agreed that we'll all go to the entertainment room and get to know each other more," She said as innocently as she could.

"Yeah! Mimi's right!" Taichi agreed quickly. "We figured that you guys needed privacy, so we figured that we'd leave you guys alone!"

With that, they all raced out the door and ran for their lives.

* * *

Once they were out of the living room, all of them laughed until their stomachs ached.

"Oh my goodness!" Taichi managed to wheeze out between laughs. "That was so funny!"

"I hope you're saying that in some twisted context, of course," Koushiro said once everybody sobered down.

"Of course I am, Izzy," the brunet reassured his friend.

Something clicked in Takeru's mind and he decided to announce it to the world. "Wow, Tai! I can't believe it…"

"What, little man?"

"You and Mimi actually agreed on something earlier," the younger blond pointed out. "You guys agree that Michael being all debonair on Aunt Fumika was plain.... revolting"

"That was a little awkward to watch," Taichi muttered. "Even an airhead like Mimi would get sickened at that."

"Who are you calling airhead, bird's nest?" Mimi roared, catching on that insult to her intellect.

"Isn't the insult 'bird brain'?" the soccer player lashed back. "You're putting too much gel in your hair, Princess, that it's affected your thinking abilities."

"I really meant 'bird's nest' since that's what your hair looks like, stupid," Mimi snapped. "But if I called you bird brain, you'd still have a brain, but nests don't have brains at all. So I thought that it would suit you better."

While they continued throwing insults at each other, Miyako, Jyou and Koushiro were amazed at how these two could go at it forever.

"Are they always like this?" Miyako asked a groaning Hikari and Takeru.

"Unfortunately, yes," Sora muttered. "They've been like that ever since they met in the province this summer."

"What happened?" Koushiro asked curiously.

"Tell you guys later," Yamato whispered. "In fact, I even have a picture of what happened." He smirked inside. As much as Taichi was his best friend, Yamato felt that it was high time Taichi's ego deflated itself. And he knew that Mimi Tachikawa was just the right girl to help bring the guy back to earth.

Although they tuned out for the rest of Mimi and Taichi's argument, one phrase caught their attention.

"That's it. There's only one thing we can agree upon," Mimi screamed.

"Oh yeah?" Taichi challenged.

"We can't agree on anything. So, let's just agree to disagree," Mimi's voice went back to normal.

"First great idea all day. I'm sure your head must have hurt thinking of that one!" Taichi snapped.

"JERK!" Mimi shouted before she stormed upstairs to her room.

Taichi just stuck his tongue out to her back. "God, that girl's going to give me a heart attack!" he shouted.

"I better go and see if she's okay." Sora suggested weakly.

"We'll come with you," Hikari chimed. She pulled Miyako along, so all three girls ran up the stairs and headed for Sora and Mimi's room.

* * *

**Okay. This is only to show how the girls moved from Suzaku to Odaiba. Sorry that this was a bit boring, but I promise the next chapter's going to be a little more exciting.**

**Please review! Come on... Please review. More reviews = more updates!**


	8. First Day High

**After an extremely long hibernation period, I have come back to life! After this chapter, it's back to hibernation for me. I wrote this chapter during my sembreak, but unfortunately, it's back to school for me. Funny, I'm posting this chapter on the first day of class when the chapter has something to do with the first day. LOL. **

**Pray that I'm not forced to go into hibernation (due to school) before I post the next chapter. **

**As usual, I'd love to thank the very fabulous PrincessJaded for beta reading this chapter. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or anything familiar in this story. (If I owned Digimon, there would have been more Michi moments and Takari would have been canon.)  
**

* * *

The following day was the first day of school for the students of Odaiba High School. Much to the students' relief, there wouldn't be any lessons held that day. They would simply receive their new schedules, attend homeroom, elect class officers and be done with the day. This was also a chance for the new students to get to know their classmates. In the afternoon, students had to sign-up for a club, team, or committee of their choice.

It was also the first time Sora, Mimi, and Hikari wore their new uniforms. The girls' uniform consisted of a white collared blouse that was buttoned at the back, a navy blue necktie, a knee-length navy blue skirt, white socks, and black leather shoes. A patch of the school's insignia was sewn on the left collar of the blouse. The patches had colors corresponding to the different year levels. For freshmen, the patch was green, while the sophomores were yellow. The junior girls wore red patches, and the seniors blue.

In contrast, the boys' uniform consisted of a blue short sleeved button-down polo with a white version of the school insignia at the front pocket, long khaki pants, white socks, and black leather shoes. Inside that polo, it was mandatory to wear a white shirt. Juniors and seniors were required to wear round silver or gold pins respectively on their left collars. This was to indicate that they were upperclassmen to the freshmen and sophomores.

It happened to be a warm April day when Mimi, Sora, and Hikari set off to Odaiba High School with the rest of the boarders. Luckily, they had Koushiro, Jyou, and Miyako to help them get around school, or else they would have been lost. After getting all their documents and schedules in order, Mimi and Koushiro, Sora and Jyou, and Hikari and Miyako went to their classrooms.

* * *

Mimi and Koushiro headed for the West Wing of the campus, where the junior classrooms were located. They talked about every topic they could think of. Mimi learned that Koushiro was an adopted child, and that his parents died when he was still a baby. He had been good friends with Taichi and Jyou ever since his elementary days; the former was his classmate while the latter was his roommate in the boarding house ever since he started living there. In turn, Mimi narrated her life story to him.

"Let me get this straight. You're saying that Kari is the sister Tai was telling us about?" Koushiro asked once Mimi was done talking.

"Yes," Mimi replied. "In fact, it amazes Sora and me that even though they only see each other once or twice every month, they act as though they see each other every day and know each other so well. Kari is as close to Tai as much as she is to Sora and me…"

"Wow. I guess Kari and Tai are lucky to have each other," Koushiro whispered. "Not that I'm disregarding your existence!" he added, once he noticed Mimi's little frown.

"No, no… Not at all," Mimi assured him. "It's no problem. As long as I don't have to see Tai's face, I'll be fine."

"What was that whole tension between you two anyway?" Koushiro asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to," he added, remembering his manners."

"No, it's okay. I'll tell you. Besides, I'm probably going to need your help to win his forgiveness," Mimi replied. "If it's alright with you, of course!" Then she narrated to him how Taichi fell into the river back in Suzaku Village and how she had taken his clothes and made him go back to their house in a pink mini-dress.

"No wonder he's wicked angry," Koushiro mused. "He's not used to being made a fool out of. He's kind of the king of the campus if you stop and think about it. Co-captain of the soccer team, head of the prom committee, and he's got an on-off relationship with one of the most popular girls in school."

Just as Koushiro said the last few words, a tall girl with long blonde hair and steel gray eyes shoved Koushiro to the side and walked between them without saying, 'excuse me' or giving an apology. She sneered at them. Her gaze lingered on Mimi before she rolled her eyes, scoffed, and walked into their classroom.

"How rude. Doesn't she have any sense of decency to say 'excuse me'?" Mimi muttered. "Who does she think she is, the Queen of England?"

"Okay, Honey. Three things about her," Koushiro burst out with a girly flair. "One, that's so not her natural hair color. Two, her boobs are totally fake. And three, she's the biggest bitch in the universe. But damn! What a pretty bitch!"

Mimi just stared in shock as she attempted to absorb the facts Koushiro just spilled. At the same time, she also tried getting over him acting in a manner that would have reminded a person of Perez Hilton.

Koushiro sensed her astonishment and said, "Listen, Beauty Queen, you want me to help you out, you'll have to take me as I am."

"Based on Tai's stories, I never thought you had a girly side," Mimi said. "But it's not bad. Different… but it's all good." She genuinely smiled.

"Glad we have that clear. Let's try that again?" He sheepishly asked, reverting back to his boyish, geeky manner once he saw their male classmates approaching them. "That annoying skank is Catherine Moreau, Tai's on-off girlfriend. Currently, they've broken up, thanks be to God. Hopefully, this break-up is for good since she's not doing him any good. Unfortunately, she's also in our class."

"Why's Tai dating her if she's not doing him any good?" Mimi asked as they entered the classroom. Koushiro chose their seats at the second row of the classroom and he gave Mimi the window seat despite her protests.

"This is where I need _you_ to help the whole school out, Mimi," the computer genius answered once they sat down.

"_What_?!" she asked him, looking completely thunder-struck. "What do you mean help the whole school?"

"Look at it this way. Technically, Catherine fancies herself as the campus 'Queen Bee' and nobody is contesting that. She's the prettiest girl in school and she's also one of the wealthiest. That's how she can throw really wicked parties. Add to those 'credentials', she happens to be the captain of the pep squad. There's this rumor that she dated and slept with both Chris Tiu and Ki-bum Kim at the same time two summers ago..." Koushiro groaned.

"And you look like the type who can challenge Catherine's authority!" a voice piped up from behind Mimi.

Mimi and Koushiro turned around and saw that the speaker was a girl with long blonde hair and amethyst colored eyes. She had an impious smirk on her face as she leaned toward them.

"Zoe dear! You gave me a heart attack!" Koushiro gasped in his girly manner, fanning himself with one hand and placed the other one on his heart.

"Shut up, Izzy!" the girl jokingly snapped. She looked at Mimi and said, "Sorry for my friend. He likes acting gay when he's around girls. Yet when he's with the guys, he acts all manly, but in a geeky way. Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Izumi Orimoto, but people call me Zoe. I seriously hope we'd be good friends!"

"Pleased to meet you, Zoe." Mimi grinned after she introduced herself.

"Anyway, back to the original conversation," Izumi reminded them of the topic. "Mimi here is exactly the perfect candidate to dethrone 'Her Royal Lowness'."

"And what makes you say that?" Mimi asked them flatly. "I'm new here, and my family isn't even filthy rich. I have no credentials to beat Catherine at her own game, whatever it is."

"Which makes you the perfect rival for her." Izumi grinned. "You're pretty. You seem like a smart girl, and you can probably pull off 'Queen Bee' if you wanted to."

"And you're the only person to actually try and crush Tai's ego. That's seriously plus points for the social chair," Koushiro added.

"Look guys, I'm new here and I don't want to get into any fights on my first day." Mimi sighed. "I just want to do well in school and be able to make Auntie Yuuko and Aunt Fumika proud of me."

"Trust us. Before lunch even strikes… you will want to help us all out," Izumi and Koushiro whispered before all three of them fixed their chairs since the teacher already came in their classroom.

* * *

At the North Wing, otherwise known as the "Senior Wing", Sora got more and more nervous with every step she took with Jyou. She wasn't even supposed to be feeling the "newbie jitters" like she was some freshman. She was supposed to be confidently walking along the halls of her high school back in Suzaku Village. Add to that, she should have been breezing along her school year and expecting to graduate at the top of her batch. However, all she felt at the moment was uncertainty. Uncertainty at how today would turn out, and even more insecure about her future. Auntie Yuuko's death could not be blamed for this at all. It wasn't Auntie Yuuko's fault that Sora was mentally panicking.

"Ugh," Sora groaned. "I can't take this."

"You okay?" Jyou worriedly asked. "Do you need to go to the infirmary or something?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Jyou," she assured him. "Just a little nervous."

"Woah, I never thought I'd live to see the day that I'd be the one assuring someone else," Jyou joked. "Usually, I'm the one hyperventilating over something."

The redhead giggled. "Well, there's a first time for everything. I guess this is _my_ first time to be nervous over the first day of class."

"Don't sweat it, Sor. Just be yourself and I'm sure our classmates will like you as much as I do." The aspiring doctor smiled. "Wait, it's okay with you if I call you Sor? Please don't kill me…" he squeaked.

Sora laughed out loud and assured him that the nickname was alright and that she had absolutely no plans of killing him. She may have felt a little better, but deep down she was still praying to Auntie Yuuko to guide her and help her make it through. Jyou was really helpful in calming her nerves by updating her about Odaiba High School's curriculum. This way, Sora would know what her teachers would expect from her on her graduating year.

It was too soon for Sora's nerves when Jyou led her over to a group of people sitting at the corridor outside their classroom. He introduced them to her as Koji, Koichi, Junpei, Tomoki, and Juri. After Sora answered the usual questions of where she came from and what her life story was, the group pretty much welcomed her with open arms.

When Junpei was done narrating a very embarrassing story about Jyou, a boy with gray-brown hair and ebony eyes ran up to them.

"Hey guys! Looking good! How were your summers?" he asked. Everyone but Sora gave the newcomer responses of "Good," "Great," "Alright," and "Okay". He looked to Jyou's left and noticed Sora. "Guess we have a new classmate. You are?"

"Sora Takenouchi," she replied with her tone asking for his name.

"I'm Takuya Kanbara," he supplied, noticing her tone. "So, do you play tennis?" he asked.

"Yup. I play," Sora eagerly answered.

"Are you any good?" Takuya challenged her.

"Of course I am!" Sora snapped defensively. "I wouldn't be a member of my old school's tennis team if I wasn't. And I wouldn't have won last year's national if I sucked…"

"Oooh. You're confident. I like that," Takuya grinned. "By way, I'm the captain of the men's tennis team. I'm sure that my female counterpart would love to have you on the team."

"Oops. I didn't mean to sound too arrogant," Sora apologized. "I'm just not used to being questioned about my playing."

"Nah… it's cool," Takuya and Jyou assured her while the rest of the people present nodded.

"Besides, you look like someone we can hang out with and trust," Takuya continued. "I expect you to pass the try-outs later." He winked.

"Count on it." Sora grinned as she reached for the guitar that lay idly in another classmate's hands.

Sora began playing some random chords when a scrawny girl who had her maroon hair done in spikes walked past them, her sienna eyes threatening to kill them all if any of them dared to look at her or make any sound.

"Shut up if you don't want me to kill you all…" the girl snarled, not even noticing that they had a new classmate. "I have a hangover and you _do not_ want to provoke me…"

Sora noticed that while everyone else looked at the girl with looks of disgust and irritation, Jyou had a different expression on his face. It held none of the ill feelings everyone else's faces had, but something different. When she looked closely, Sora spied a faint blush creeping on the boy's face.

"Looks like Jyou's got a crush on somebody!" she teased as she poked his side. "Who is she, anyway?"

"That's Jun Motomiya, the 'Number One Minion of Queen Bee Catherine,'" Takuya bitterly provided. "And the unfortunate love of Jyou's life," he whispered for only Sora to hear.

"She's a boarder at the boarding house," Jyou added not hearing a word Takuya said, "We'll meet her there later."

"By the way, who's 'Queen Bee Catherine'? And why do you all hate her so much?" Sora asked.

Takuya and Jyou took turns in explaining to Sora about Catherine's claim to popularity and why nobody can contest it. From what Sora understood, Catherine was a junior student whose penchant for scandal and dating high profile boys appealed to everybody, especially wannabees like Jun. She resolved then and there not to involve herself with Jun, Catherine, or any form of scandal.

* * *

Hikari and Miyako trekked over to the South Wing of the school. Miyako updated Hikari on Odaiba High School's rumor mill. By the time they reached their classroom, Hikari learned that her brother was dating a beautiful but incredibly nasty party girl who used to live in the boarding house until Aunt Fumika got fed up with her disobedience of the house rules due to partying.

As a member of the school paper, she had to know what was happening in campus. At least, that was Miyako's explanation when Hikari asked how she knew the latest campus gossip. The only problem with this reason was that the brunette did not even buy it for a second. Although she had only known her new friend for a couple of hours, she discovered that despite Miyako's good heart and noble intentions, she had an incurable love for gossip and meddling with other people's love lives.

They fought their way among the other freshmen who seemed to be making a fuss over something. Miyako and Hikari could barely see a thing, but they could hear other girls screaming things like "Oh, my gosh!" and "I love you! Please go out with me."

"You'd think there was a celebrity here," Hikari groaned as they fought through the crowds to get to their classroom.

Much to the girls' irritation, the closer they got to their classroom, the thicker the crowds became. Hikari wasn't the type to lash out at other people. Luckily her companion had no qualms about this. The purple haired girl pushed her glasses up her face, stretched and flexed her arms, and pulled her cheerful face into a menacing glare and screamed, "GET OUT OF OUR WAY BITCHES!" She also shoved some of the fan girls away so that she and Hikari can pass through.

"Yolei… you didn't need to do that," Hikari whispered, feeling some of the girls' glares on their backs.

"If I didn't do that, we would have turned into Kari- or Yolei-mush…" Miyako hissed, "Seriously, when those girls get wild over something, you'd have to fight your way through if you want to make it out of there alive."

After five more minutes of struggling, Miyako finally saw that the object of the crowd's insanity was in their classroom. She gently tugged Hikari who looked like she was about to pass out. At long last, Hikari and Miyako spied four boys somewhere near the windows looking terrified for their lives and embarrassed at all the attention they have been receiving. Hikari deduced that they were the cause of the ruckus because they were the only ones who looked extremely embarrassed while the other boys were either glaring at them or helping control the crowd.

Hikari took a good look at the boys the girls fussed over. The first one she saw looked like a mini-version of her older brother. He had sienna eyes that glinted with mischief and he also had goggles on his head, the only difference was that his maroon hair was a bit neater than Taichi's nest. He shouted at and begged the girls to go away and leave them in peace.

The next one was a shorter person with mousy brown hair that resembled a coconut and shy olive green eyes. He wielded what looked like a kendo stick to ward off the really drastic fans who wanted to kiss them.

Hikari noticed Miyako's eyes were directed at the classmate with midnight blue hair and indigo eyes that had this wise aura in them. He was no longer talking to the girls, but he looked like he was helping the last member of their little group escape through the window.

This last member looked pretty familiar to her. She just couldn't see too well because of the taller people blocking her view. All she made out of the boy who was attempting to climb out the window was a white fisherman's hat. The boy groaned and gave up on escaping through of the window. Apparently the window was locked from the outside and none of them had any other alternative exits. He turned around towards them and Hikari finally realized how he could be so familiar… Golden blond hair and sapphire blue eyes were uncommon in Japan, and nobody else wore a fisherman's hat like that one. She realized right then and there that Takeru Takaishi was the type of boy who had millions of fan girls and he had the power to break their hearts with a single word. He may seem so sweet and so kind, but he had probably broken so many hearts before. Girls wouldn't be throwing themselves at him if he wasn't a player.

Her coffee brown eyes made contact with his sapphire blue ones. She saw that the fear that was in his eyes was gone and a sense of safety had replaced it. He gave her a small smile which she hesitantly returned. She hurriedly looked away before he could call her attention, but it was too late.

"Kari! Yolei!" Takeru shouted. "Help us!"

"I should've guessed they were the reason for this fiasco," Miyako grumbled, tugging Hikari along toward the boys.

Once again, Hikari felt the fan girl's angry glares when she and Miyako reached Takeru and the other boys. Hikari silently helped Takeru get his polo shirt and his left shoe unstuck from the window while Miyako and the other boys forcefully shooed away the people who weren't in their class.

"Get out now!" Miyako shouted, pushing the girls to the doors.

"Yeah! There's nothing to see here!" the Taichi-lookalike added. "Out you go now…"

"Thanks Kari, I swear, you're an angel from heaven," Takeru whispered to her once she got his polo shirt unstuck from the window.

Hikari almost shyly smiled at his words, but then she remembered that he was the cause of that fiasco. He was probably just charming her because she was a new girl in school. He'd probably break her heart once she gives it to him. As a result, she successfully fought her blush and raised her eyebrows at him.

Miyako noticed this little exchange, but instead of commenting on it, she took Hikari by the arm and introduced their new classmate to them all.

"Classmates, I'd like you all to meet Hikari Yagami!" she announced. "But she'd rather be called 'Kari'. Before any of you even ask, the answer is yes. She's Tai's younger sister, so you rumor-mongering people can shut up now."

Hikari was overwhelmed by the flurry of classmates introducing themselves to her. Usually, the people flocked to Mimi or Sora, and she was cast aside. Being in the limelight was definitely a new experience for her. As much as she enjoyed meeting her new classmates, she was also relieved when they were done introducing themselves.

"How about I introduce you to the other idiots who caused today's hallway traffic?" Miyako suggested, leading her over to Takeru and the other three boys.

"These are the goofs I've been telling you about since yesterday. You know? The ones who I told you forever get me into all sorts of trouble?" She explained for Hikari's benefit. "Introduce yourselves, gentlemen!" she snapped at her friends.

The boy who resembled Taichi got up first and threw a cheeky smile Hikari's way. "My name is Daisuke Motomiya, but you can call me Davis, Beautiful. I'm one of the rookies of the soccer team. Your brother happens to be my role model as well."

At the word "beautiful" Takeru's hands tightly gripped his desk that Miyako saw his knuckles turn white. Hikari, discreetly however rolled her eyes at Daisuke and ignored his attempt at flirting. Daisuke realized that Hikari was not interested in him, so he decided not to continue his impulsive plan of asking her out even though she was very pretty.

"My name is Ken Ichijouji, and it's a pleasure to meet you," the boy with the blue hair greeted. "I'm another rookie of the soccer team, and I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"He's also a freaky genius with an IQ of 150," Takeru added while his grip on the desk relaxed.

"I'm not a freaky genius!" Ken protested. "I just happen to study well."

"Don't be modest, Kenny," Daisuke added. "We all know you're a genius."

"No matter how many times I told you to _never_ call me 'Kenny', you still persist in doing so," Ken snarled, playfully grabbing Daisuke's collar.

"Will you two drop it?! Yolei, stop them!" the shortest boy hissed. To Hikari, he said, "I'm Iori Hida but I go by Cody. While those guys play soccer and basketball, I practice kendo."

From Iori's statement, Hikari deduced that Takeru was the one who played basketball. She guessed that he was probably on the basketball team.

"_Great. Not only is T.K. a campus heartthrob, he's also an athlete,_" she grumbled mentally. "_Gives him more 'permission' to break girls' hearts, thus more reason to stay away from him as much as possible._"

* * *

**The girls' uniform was my uniform when I was in high school (St. Theresa's College,Quezon City) while the boys' uniform was based on the uniform of Ateneo de Manila High School.  
**

**As much as I wish I owned them, I also don't own Ki-bum Kim and Chris Tiu. **

**As for Izzy being gay, there's a VERY valid reason for that. I promise. Rest assured, this is NOT Izzy-bashing. **

**As always, please leave a review! ;)  
**


End file.
